


Together

by BooButler



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Death, F/M, Killing, Mental Instability, Original Character(s), Titans, Top Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:53:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 64,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25773151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooButler/pseuds/BooButler
Summary: Leena Novikoff, following the death of her father in Shiganshina, is recruited by Commander Erwin Smith to join the Scouts Regimen. Five years later, when her ranking as Captain is called into question, she is forced to work under the close supervision of one, Levi Ackerman, in hopes to regain her former position.Updates every Monday and Friday
Relationships: Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 51





	1. Fall of Shiganshina

Leena Novikoff sat on a barrel in the streets of Shiganshina, a book in her hand as she had her legs propped up against the wall. It was an odd position to say the least, her off the shoulder white blouse spread out on the barrel. She laid there on her back, her legs straight up, making her a 90 degree angle, her brown leather pants tied at her hips. She was but fifteen at the time, working as an apprentice to the town’s doctor. So when she heard her name being shouted by the man’s son, she lazily tilted her head to see him and Mikasa running at her, full tilt. Her brows furrowed and she carefully closed the book and spun herself to an upright position, looking down at the two as they stopped in front of her. 

Eren was breathing heavily as she looked down at him. “Those assholes are messing with Armin again,” he breathed out. 

“Are you kidding me?” she asked in anger, hopping off the barrel. “They’re older than me! Don’t they have anything better to do?” she asked, looking around. “Where?” 

Armin was arguably the closest to her out of the three, she always wanted to keep him safe and cared about him. Eren pointed down a street and the three took off running. Eren was leading the way, Misaka and Leena in tow, both ready to fight for each boy. 

“Back off!” Eren shouted. 

Leena could hear the boys muttering tauntingly at Eren and she and Mikasa came out from behind the boy and she smirked as the boys’ expressions switched to utter fear. They turned and broke out into full sprints as the three reached them. “Cowards!” Leena shouted as she came to a stop, looking at them as they booked it. 

She turned to Armin, giving a soft smile and offered him a free hand to help him from the ground. Eren released a chuckle. “That’s all it takes, one look. I’m that scary,” he said, smirking. 

“Well,” Armin said, still holding Leena’s hand, “two of you are,” he offered as he struggled to get up. Leena pulled him to his feet and held him steady. 

“Where’d they get you, Armin?” Eren asked, as Leena looked him over quickly. 

He started to tear up and Leena cupped his cheek. “It’s alright, thank you,” he said, trying to look away from her. 

Leena sighed a little. “Why don’t we go to the river?” she asked and he looked up at her hesitantly but slowly nodded. She looked at Eren and Mikasa for approval and they both nodded as well. Their walk was a rather quick one, but it was also quiet. Armin sat on the top stair and Leena sat beside him, leaning her back against him as she reopened her book, seeming as though she wasn’t paying attention but all her focus was on the boy behind her. “So… what happened?” she asked, her voice was soft but she wasn’t sure if anyone else was willing to get to the problem at hand. 

Armin sighed a little and hung his head. “Oh… they just heard me rattling on about how mankind’s future lay beyond the walls. Doubt they understood half of it but still.”

“Idiots,” Eren grumbled, throwing a stone to the river. “Why’s it gotta be this way?” he asked, a little defeated. “Why can’t people just let us dream?”

“It’s not just a dream,” Leena released boredly. There was silence and she looked up to see the quizzical faces on all of them. She rolled her eyes and closed her book, sitting up. “Realistically speaking, we are functioning like animals in a pen, before the walls were erected, we were thriving beyond them, then those damn titans came. I mean, if we think of all the books Armin has shown us… it’s only a matter of time. They only defend the walls because of what it has provided.”

“She’s right,” Armin said softly. “The walls are a powerful idea. We’ve survived for a hundred years because of them. No one’s keen on tempting fate. I may not agree with that sentiment, but I can see where they’re coming from.” Leena nodded a little, holding the book between her hands. “It’s human nature, Eren. When all’s said and done, the government’s policies are a reflection of our fear.”

Eren huffed and looked back out to the water. “Yeah, the rest of the herd’s maybe. I say hell with them!”

“Calm down killer,” Leena said, rolling her eyes. 

Mikasa had furrowed her brows and spoke with a little anger. “Someone’s gonna hear you.” They boys both looked down at her for a moment and she huffed. “Keep it down.”

“What do I care?” He snarled a little. “You’ll rat me out either way.”

“Eren,” Leena said boredly. 

“I never promised anything,” Mikasa said, looking back at the water. 

Armin leaned a little closer, looking at the boy. “Your folks know about the Scouts?” 

“Basically,” he said, defeat in his tone. “And they’re not too pleased.”

“Are you surprised?” Leena asked. “My dad is in the military and the minute I even mention the Scouts he loses his mind. Why do you think I picked up the apprenticeship with your dad? Not that I’m really learning anything, I’m not allowed to travel with him.”

“It’s sad,” Armin said, shaking his head a little. “What most people here are willing to settle for in exchange for some fleeting sense of security, you know?” he asked, looking at her. 

“Make no mistake,” she said softly, looking at him. “It is absolutely fleeting…”

He nodded his head and hugged his knees, looking at the water. “The walls can’t hold forever. Only a matter of time.” Leena nodded in agreement and leaned forward, resting her head in her hand. It was as if he had jinkst it, a loud eruption of lightning caused the earth to shake under them, and the four kids went flying in the air. Leena rolled down the stairs a little with a scream and her book went flying into the water. She brought herself to her feet and looked up the stairs, moving at Mikasa’s side up to reach the boys. “What was that?” Armin asked, looking at the two. 

“I dunno!” Eren released, looking towards the wall. As they looked down a small alley, they saw a group of men beginning to run in the direction of the wall. Armin took off to go see what it was and Leena started jogging immediately. “Armin! Leena! What are you doing?” he called after them, running to catch up with Mikasa coming behind him. The two in the lead rounded the corner but Armin halted as he looked up at the wall, grabbing Leena by the arm and making her stop. She looked confused, but when she looked up, her jaw fell and her eyes widened. “Talk to me!” Eren sounded, reaching them. “What’s going on? Some kind explosion or somethi-” he released a gasp when he saw what was happening. At the top of the wall, a giant hand with no skin was seen, crushing the wall under its grip. 

“No! That’s impossible!” Armin sounded. “That wall’s fifty meters high!” 

Leena released a shaky breath as she saw a head rise above the wall. Like the hand, it had no skin, and seemed to be looking down directly at them. “W-we need to get out of here,” Leena said, not moving an inch. An explosion sounded, the gate to the outside world flying open. The power itself released a wave, shattering windows and tearing apart homes as debris was sent flying.

Armin was forced to the ground, looking up in terror. “It- It blasted a hole… like it was kicking a rock.” Leena looked around for a moment but then saw a head moving over the roof tops. 

Screaming erupted through the street. “We need to go!” she shouted. 

“Eren!” Armin wailed and Leena saw him sprinting towards the wall. 

“Our house is in that direction!” he whimpered back. “Mom’s all by herself!”

Mikasa took off running after the boy and Armin reached out after them but Leena grabbed him and held his face between her hands. “This- this is the end,” he released, terror in his eyes. “They’re inside. We- every last one of us going to be devoured!”

“No,” Leena said, shaking her head and holding him still. “Go find your grandpa! And both of you make for the wall, I will meet you there!” she shouted, bringing him back to reality. “We will be fin-”

“Leena!” a voice shouted, making her turn. “Where are Eren and Mikasa?” Hannes asked as he landed in front of her. 

“They went to their house!” she exclaimed. “Their mom is there by herself!”

“I got them. Get yourselves to the interior wall, understand?” he shouted, making her nod. “I’ll meet you there with all three of them, go!”

  
  


Leena nodded again and turned, grabbing Armin and starting to run. “Find your grandpa, I’m finding dad,” she shouted, releasing him and booking it down an alley. She was running for about five minutes, but once she reached her home, she saw it was in rubble. She had tears in her eyes and she moved to it slowly. She came to a stop and saw the top half of a body laying out front, the debris covering its bottom half. “D-dad?” she whimpered out. She ran to him, blood coming out of the side of his mouth as he tiredly looked up at her. “Dad!” she cried, dropping to her knees. 

“Y-you need to get out of here,” he grunted out, more blood coming from his lips. A loud stomp made her look over her shoulder, seeing a small titan stepping onto their street two blocks away. She released a whimper. He grabbed her arm and made her look to him, tears falling down her face. “T-take the swords…” he groaned, moving to hand her the handles of his ODM gear. He pulled a knife and used his all of his strength to cut the hilts free. “T-the blades,” he said, gesturing to the stock of blades attached to his side.

  
  


“D-dad how do I?”

He took the handle and showed her how to lock it in. “D-defend yourself and your friends,” he whispered as she forced the blade into the second handle. 

“H-how do I kill them?” she cried out, fear holding her. He reached up, taking her by the back of the neck. She was confused as he used his thumb and index finger to trace two lines onto her skin. “T-the nape?” she whimpered.

Her father nodded his head as he looked up at her. “I love you,” he released.

“I love you too,” she cried, gripping his face. 

“Go,” he said. 

Leena forced herself to stand as she heard the creature getting closer. She ducked down behind a crumbled wall, two swords in hand. The footsteps she heard stopped. She forced herself to look, and saw the naked back of the titan as it stood over her father. Her jaw clenched as it kneeled in front of him and reached a hand down. Her father released noises of pain as it lifted him from the rubble. Leena’s eyes widened as it raised the man above its head, leaning back a little as he was dangling from his ankle between the beasts fingers. Her breath hitched as he was lowered, but she couldn’t close her eyes as a crunch sounded, her father being bit in half. It was that moment that everything changed. Rage took over, and she was consumed by it. She was determined and pissed, something clicking inside of her. It was seeing this that made Leena become an Apex Predator. 

Her body lurched forward and she was sprinting. She brought her swords out to one side and released a deafening scream of rage. She jumped up and slashed at the back of its neck with both weapons, removing a huge chunk of it. Blood sprayed her before she landed, her back to the beast as it fell to the side. Her white blouse was stained red, her face dripping, no longer from tears, but the blood of her now sworn enemy. She didn’t try to wipe it off, instead, she would wear it as a badge, taking a triumphant step away and now, she was on the hunt. 

Leena sprinted through the alleys, killing off two more small titans as they came into her path, but as she came on to a main street, she heard the screaming of a child. Her head turned to the direction of the cries. She saw the back of a small titan, walking slowly from her, and between its legs, she saw a little girl, sobbing and walking backwards away from it. Leena growled a little, walking slowly at first, but broke into a sprint. She didn’t know there were eyes on her, and as the men of the Garrison slowed to a halt as she lunged towards the creature, spinning and using the two swords to slice the creature’s ankles and it fell forward. She jumped up onto its back and sliced it’s neck in one fluid motion. After she finished the kill, she lowered the swords to her sides, looking down at the girl. “You’re safe now,” she said, stepping on the creature’s head and hopping off onto the ground, moving to the child and crouching in front of her. “Where’s your parents?” she asked softly as the girl continued to cry. 

She slowly pointed past her to the dead creature, and Leena sighed, hanging her head a little. “Let’s get-”

“L-Leena?” a voice called, cutting her off and making her turn and stand, prepared to fight once again. Instead, she saw three of her father’s comrades. “Did… did you actually just slay a titan?” he asked, his hands up as she still had her swords raised. 

She looked down a little, looking at the weapon’s in her hands, staring at the blood dripping from the metal. “Four,” she said loudly. She looked up at him, and they tightened their jaws at the blood covering her face and clothes. “I’ve killed four.”

Leena saw them all look at each other and then back to her. “We… need to get you on the boat,” the man in the middle said. He began walking towards her, fearing she may be traumatized by her own actions. “How did you get those?” he asked, pointing to the swords as he was about to reach her. 

“My father,” she whispered, looking up at him. She had a look of heart break and he then realized what had happened. “We have to help get her out of here,” she said, looking back at the little girl. 

“Who’s blood is that?” he asked softly.

“T-Titan blood, I killed four, sir,” she repeated, looking back at him in confusion.

“Leena… Titan blood evaporates,” he said, watching her face morph. “H-had the Titans just eaten people?” he asked, furrowing his brows. 

Leena’s eyes went wider. “M-my dad,” she whimpered out. 

The man in front of her watched her expression, and he couldn’t find the heart to tell her. When she had sliced the neck, she cut her father, and it was his blood that had spewed from the beast. “We’ll get you both out of here,” he said with a nod, reaching for the swords and slowly taking them from her. “Come on.” She looked back up at him and nodded her head, moving from him and quickly taking the little girl by the hand. They moved as a squad through the city, the men surrounding the two girls, though Leena, at that moment, didn’t understand why. Unknowing to them, civilians had seen what she had done as well, and word quickly burned throughout the people as they began boarding the boats to Wall Rose. Soon she would know. As they busted through the gate, one man picked up the little girl and the same man grabbed Leena. “Hold on to me!” he demanded and she did. Using the ODM gear he lifted off the ground and headed for the wall, using it to bring them closer and closer to the boat as he moved between the scattered homes. Once they reached the dock, he set her down. “You need to stay here for a moment, do not speak to anyone,” he instructed, looking down at the blood covered girl. She nodded her head and understood, watching him take off towards the inner portion of the ship. 

Leena stood at the edge, gripping the railing as she stared at her reflection in the water. She could hear the murmuring and feel the stares on the back of her neck. Someone gripped her arm, making her turn quickly with rage on her face. An older man stood in front of her, a rag in his hand, fixated on the blood stains that covered her. “Here child,” he said, offering it to her. Leena looked at it and slowly took it. “Far too young to have seen and done such things,” he said sympathetically. “Get yourself cleaned.”

Leena nodded a thank you and brought it up, scrubbing the blood from her face with the dry cloth before moving to her hands. “Leena!” someone shouted. She looked off to the side, abandoning her hands for a moment and she saw a blonde boy running to her. “Oh my god! Are you hurt?” he asked upon reaching her. 

“N-no, I’m fine,” she said, shaking her head and looking down at him. 

“Where did all that blood come from?” he asked, taking her hand and looking up at her. 

She stared at him for a moment. “T-titans,” she said softly. That was when the realization hit her. “Armin… I killed four titans,” her voice contained more fear than anything. 

Armin stared up at her with wide eyes. “W-what?”

“I killed four titans,” she repeated, now with rage. “M-my dad.. They… in front of me. I snapped.”

“Four titans?” he asked, staring at her. She nodded her head and he went to speak again. 

“Leena,” A voice said, grabbing her attention. “You need to come with me,” her father’s friend said. He was standing with his captain and a few others in the Garrison. “Now.”

Leena looked back at Armin and he nodded. “Go, I’ll be here once you’re done.”

“Try to find Eren and Mikasa,” she said panicking. 

“I will,” Armin said, nodding at her. 

“Leena!” the captain shouted. 

“Go,” he said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. 

Leena turned and began walking to the men, pushing past civilians to make it to them. They began leading her inside, silence overcoming them. They cleaned her up as best they could, and she was forced to sit in silence with the Garrison soldiers. She wanted to know what was going on, have any clue of what was to come, but she didn’t test her limits. Their ride to Wall Rose was slow, and once they finally landed she was escorted to a court yard and sat down, being told not to move and they would be back for her. 

Leena looked at her hands, her white shirt stained red and her brown leather pants holding the hue as well. She sighed a little, shaking her head. That morning she was simply reading her book, and that’s all she wanted to do now, return to that level of normalcy but she knew there was no going back. She didn’t know why they would be forcing her to stay. 

“Leena!” someone shouted, making her look up quickly. She saw her three friends, running at her. Tears came to her eyes as she jumped to her feet, running at them. They all engulfed in a hug. 

“Thank god you’re all alright,” she released, pulling away and looking at them. 

“We didn’t see you on the boat,” Mikasa explained. 

“I know, I got pretty much detained,” she informed, shaking her head a little. 

“You killed some of them?” Eren finally asked, staring at her with rage but she knew it wasn’t directed at her. She nodded her head and he huffed. “Good! Fucking bastards.”

“We need to make a plan,” Armin said, shaking his head. 

“I don’t know what’s going to happen to me,” Leena said, looking at them. “The Garrison left me here saying they were coming back for me and gave me orders not to leave.” 

The three all stared at her and she sighed. She forced them to sit down, and they talked for about a half hour. The sound of her name being called made her jump and slowly stand. Her father’s friend and his captain came walking towards them, a collection of men in green cloaks trailing close behind him. Her eyes were wide when she caught sight of him. Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps. 

Leena watched as they moved to her, not acknowledging her friends who stared up at them. “State your name,” Her father’s friend said. 

Leena had a look of panic. “L-leena Novikoff, sir,” she stuttered. 

Erwin began walking to stand in front of her. “You’re alright,” he said with a little nod. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you, miss Novikoff,” he said, smiling a little. “Mostly, you took down a titan with no training.”

“Four,” she said softly, staring up at him. 

“What?” he asked, furrowing his brows. 

She looked down a little. “I killed four titans,” she breathed out. 

He furrowed his large brows as he looked down at her. “Y-you killed four?” he asked in disbelief. “Today?” 

Leena nodded. “Y-yes sir,” she stuttered out. 

He had wide eyes, nodding his head. “Leena… is it alright if I call you that?” he asked, trying to make her more comfortable. She nodded her head slowly. “Leena, I’d like for you to come and train under me, if you’d be willing to.”

“W-what?” she asked out in complete disbelief. 

Erwin looked around a little and moved closer to her. His voice was quiet as he spoke to her, but she could hear every word. “We would put you in an accelerated program, and once you’ve completed the training, of course you could choose which Regiment you’d like to join, but if what you are saying is true, we would be honored to have you as a recruit in the Scouts.” 

Leena stood in shock, Armin looking up at her. “What do you say, brat, ready to put your life on the line for your fellow?” a man asked from behind Erwin, moving to his side and she didn’t recognize him. He stood not much taller than her, his sunken, tired eyes peering down at her. His sharp gaze sent shivers down her spine and in that moment, she realized she was face to face with humanity’s strongest hero. 

Leena went to open her mouth but Armin opened his faster. “Leena, please… you don't have to do this,” he said, recognizing she was leaning towards going. “Please, just stay here with us.”

“And wait until this happens again?” Leena snapped, whipping her head in his direction. He stared up at her. “I can’t just sit back and do nothing. Armin… I won’t just sit here waiting for death like cattle. You said it yourself, the walls can’t hold forever, and someone has to fight back.” She held a stern face and he wanted to protest but she turned back to the men in front of her. “I’ll do it,” she said with a nod.


	2. Welcome to Trost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! I'm going to be updating twice a week on Mondays and Fridays because I'm spicy, hope you enjoy and feel free to leave a comment! I'd love feedback.

Five years had passed since then, and the memory of that day came to Leena every night in her dreams. It was the day she gave up everything for a chance to reclaim the human world, leaving her friends and joining the military. By the end of Trainee Corps, she was only there for 11 months. She had been in contact with all of the commanders of the different regiments, all trying to convince her to come with them, but in the end, she joined Erwin. The Commander had made a promise to her before she joined it, and he kept it, keeping her in his own squad for the first year, but after that, he had seen what she was capable of, and she quickly earned the rank of Captain. Her squad consisted of three people, herself included, and when they went beyond Rose, they were always upping their titan kill count. Upon Erwin’s request, she would sometimes join him in his own missions, but other than that, she really didn’t work with the Survey Corps. The Commander had become her closest friend, and Levi Ackerman had an admiration for the girl he couldn’t shake. 

Leena emerged from her room, looking around the military base on the opposite side of the Wall of Trost. She had declined going on the Survey Corps mission that earlier morning and had gone back to her room to rest, having just returned from her mission the day before. As everyone was running around in panic, she furrowed her brows.

She quickly grabbed a soldier as he sprinted by, yanking him down to her face. She hadn’t grown since she had left her home five years ago, so needless to say, she was on the shorter side. “What’s going on?” she demanded, watching the soldier’s eyes widen in fear.

“The C-colossal! He kicked a whole in the Wall of Trost! It’s just like it was five years ago,” he shouted, panic in his voice and she released him. 

Leena turned back to her room and ran in. She pulled on her ODM gear as quickly as she could, putting two gas tanks onto the holsters on her back and pulled on her Scouts jacket before sprinting out. She sprinted towards the tower, knowing that was the quickest way to get into Trost. As she moved, she saw a man looking out the window in terror. “How many recruits are out there?” she asked, pulling him back from the window. 

He shook his head as he looked at her.. “Most of them are just recruits,” he released. “Captain Leena, what do you plan to do?”

“Save their sorry asses,” she released, kicking the window open and jumping up. “Are civilians clear?” she asked over her shoulder. He nodded his head after thinking for a moment and she nodded. Without another word, she dove out of the tower window, activating her gear and quickly soaring to the top of the wall. As she reached the wall’s edge, she looked at the hell that was already breaking loose. However, through the rain, she could see a group of soldiers on a few roof tops. She sighed a little, pulling up the mask of her uniform, covering the lower half of her face. With a few quick steps, she launched herself out, grappling and launching herself as quickly as she could to them. She began slicing down any Titans in her path, but as she got closer, she realized the group was surrounded. In a flash, she was circling the buildings individually, eliminating every titan and spinning as she went. Once they were clear, she launched herself up onto one of the roof tops, her arms out and legs straight as she did a layout. In a second, her swords were sheathed and she was turning around. 

“You aren’t Mikasa,” a boy with an undercut released, staring at her. 

She pulled down the mask and smirked a little. “That’s accurate,” she said, nodding. “Ackerman? Mikasa Ackerman?” she asked, furrowing her brows a little. 

“Y-yeah,” a boy with a buzzcut said, furrowing his brows. “W-who are you?”

“Captain Leena Novikoff, Survey Corps,” she said, nodding at him. “Think of me as the rescue squad of the day. Care to explain why you lot are all just sitting on the rooftops?” she asked, looking around at the different soldiers. 

The first boy looked up at her. “Gas… we’re running on fumes.”

“Supply depot?” she asked, keeping an eye out for any incoming Titans. 

The boy with the buzzcut shook his head. “We have no clue where they are,” he said, looking at her. 

Leena grumbled a little. “Shit,” she muttered. 

“They barricaded themselves in HQ, and Titans have swarmed the place,” the first boy said in a defeated tone. “We can’t get the gas ourselves.”

“To hell we can’t,” Leena said, shaking her head. 

“The veterans have all been killed, we lack the numbers,” the boy said. 

“Well, if you stay here you’re gonna die anyway, you gonna fight for your life or give up?” she asked bluntly, looking at him. “They aren’t at the top of the food chain anymore, willing to follow a Scout Captain?” she asked, looking at them. 

“How are a bunch of rookies gonna pull it off?”

“I killed my first four before any training, you can do much more than you think,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Gonna get off your ass and help?” she asked. 

“Leena!” a voice screamed, grabbing her attention, she spun around and saw Mikasa forcing herself to land on the roof. 

“Mikasa!” Leena shouted, sprinting at the girl. They slammed into each other, hugging each other. “Holy shit! You actually joined! Thank god, we needed some actual fighters!”

“We all did,” she said, pulling away. “Armin and Eren are out here somewhere but I can’t find their squad, I was in the Rear.”

“That’s fine,” she said, shaking her head. “We will find them and I’ll get you all out of here.” Leena was smiling at Mikasa, looking up at her as she had grown so much since they last saw each other. “Who would have seen them last?” she asked and Mikasa began looking around frantically. She pointed to a group on the roof over and used her gear to move. Leena looked over at the boys. “Joining the pride or staying for the slaughter?” she asked darkly and the two stared at her but stood, nodding their heads. She nodded with a smirk. “Follow me.” Leena took off running and used her gear to send herself over. By the time she got there, Mikasa was by the wall and she was greeted by a group of rookies, staring at her in confusion. “Rescue squad,” she said, nodding at them. 

“Who are you, exactly?” A tall blonde asked, looking at her. 

“Captain Leena Novikoff of the Survey Corps,” she said.

The sound of shouting grabbed her attention. “They died valiantly on the field of battle!” the voice screamed, making her look over and she saw him. Armin, on his hands and knees crying, and that’s when she realized it. 

“Fuck,” she whispered. She moved quickly, reaching Mikasa’s side. “Armin,” she said, forcing him to look up at him, the sight of her made him sob more. She dropped to her knees and he lurched at her, sobbing into her neck as she hugged him. 

“I’m so sorry, Mikasa,” he cried out, Leena placing a hand on the back of his head, holding him to her. “It should have been me that died, not Eren!I-I couldn’t do a thing! I’m worthless.”

“Armin,” Leena whispered. 

However, that didn’t stop his tears, but as Mikasa crouched beside Leena, placing a hand on his, he looked up. “Calm yourself, we haven’t got time for you to get emotional right now.” Armin released a noise of confusion and Leena pulled herself from him, standing tall and both girls took each of his hands, pulling him. “On your feet.”

Mikasa turned and began discussing tactics with those who were looking on. Leena didn’t release Armin. “Look at me,” she released, making him look at her and she brought a hand up, wiping the tears away. “Death doesn’t discriminate, right now, all we can do is fight for Eren. It’s going to be hard, and it will take time, but we will get through this, okay?” she asked and he hiccupped, nodding his head. Her hands went to his shoulders and she pulled him in, hugging him and his hands went around her waist, leaning a little to hug her closely to him. 

“Am I correct, Leena?” Mikasa asked, making the 20 year old turn and look at her. “We can refuel and retreat?” 

Leena nodded and began walking closer. “Yeah, we will have to close ranks, keep each other close and everyone accounted for. It will be difficult but I’ll spear head and clear a path as much as I can.”

“Leena and I will take point,” Mikasa said, looking back at all the recruits. “We can do this, I am strong. None of you come close, you hear me?” she asked, raising her sword above her head. “I am a warrior. Know this, I have the power to slay all of the Titans that block our path! Even if Leena wasn’t here. Even if I had to do it alone. As far as I’m concerned, I am surrounded by a bunch of unskilled, cowardly worms. You disappoint me. You can just sit here and twiddle your thumbs, and watch how it’s done!” Leena watched as cadets began questioning her, saying it was going to be the death of her, and she crossed her arms. “If I can’t beat them, then I die. But, if I win, I live.” as she spoke, she turned her back on them, looking out over the city. “And the only way to win is to fight!” 

As she jumped off the edge, Leena smirked, pulling her mask up as a boy shouted after her. “With the pride?” Leena asked as she pulled her swords and started sprinting for the edge, she launched herself, attaching her gear to a wall and tearing herself through the air. She easily kept up with Mikasa, the two tearing through Titans. 

As Leena spun through the air, slicing a Titan, she saw Mikasa plummet into a rooftop. Armin screamed after her. The buzzcut kid shouted that he would go after them and convinced the boy with the undercut to lead the group. “Leena! Lead them with Jean!” he screamed before going after them. 

Leena flipped through the air quickly and slowed, letting the boy with the undercut to catch up. “You Jean?” she asked as she moved beside him. 

“Yeah,” he said with a nod. 

“Alright,” She said loudly. “I’ll keep trying to clear a path, you keep everyone in line! Let’s aim for as little casualties as we can.” 

Jean grunted and nodded. “Follow the Captain! Avoid fighting, same tactic as before!” he demanded. Leena nodded and launched herself up in the air, flipping before taking off at her fastest speed. Jean watched her move back and forth in front of the pack, picking off as many titans as she deemed necessary. As she reached HQ, she made a loop around the building, scouting out how many titans were actually there before looping back around. When she came back to the first side of the building, she saw the shattered windows, something that wasn’t there before. She smirked, not seeing the cadets, knowing they made it inside. In a quick movement, she attached her gear to the side of the building and launched herself through the open window. She slid as her feet connected with the ground, looking around to see the now lessened number of cadets. Her eyes landed on Jean, who crouched on the ground, looking under a desk. She sheathed her swords as she moved in, slamming her hand on the desk and jerking her head to look under it. “Found the supply team,” she grunted, grabbing the crying girl by the jacket and tearing her from her spot as Jean grabbed the boy. The girl stumbled out, still crying and Leena lifted her off the ground by her jacket, despite being a good six inches shorter than her. 

“C-Captain!” she cried out, grabbing her by her wrists. “Please!” she screamed as Jean punched the male cadet, knocking him to the ground. 

“You cowards!” he screamed as a boy held him back. “You left us out there on our own!” he said, fighting to get back at the boy. “People are dead because you didn’t have the guts to do your job!” 

“Explain yourselves!” Leena screamed angrily at the girl, throwing her to the ground. 

She released a sob and scurried across the floor to the boy, trying to protect him. “The Titans were coming at us from every angle!” she cried out, looking up as Leena began walking towards the desk, pulling a dagger.. “They overran the supply room, okay?” she cried. 

“That’s not good enough!” Leena shouted, slamming the blade into the desk. 

Jean looked enraged. “It’s your job to deal with it and back us up anyway!” he shouted. 

“I’m not even supposed to be in the field today and I had to come out as a rescu-”

“Hit the deck!” a boy screamed. 

Leena lurched towards Jean and the boy holding him, grabbing them and tearing them to the ground before flipping the desk. She wrapped her arms around their heads and ducked down. An explosion sounded and debris flew over them. Jean slowly stood up, looking through the fog and saw the hole in the room. “Son of a-” he shouted. 

“There’s too many people!” Leena shouted, jumping to her feet and moving over the tipped desk. 

“They can smell us!” Jean shouted

“Everyone! Move further into the building! I’ll hold them back!” Leena ordered, pulling her swords and moving towards the creatures. The cadets fell into panic, most of them screaming and moving for the door. Jean stood frozen, watching the girl moving towards the hole. Leena’s eyes widened as she saw a fist connect with the side of the Titan’s head. “Wha-” she released before a powerwave hit her, sending her flying back 

“Captain!” Jean screamed, lurching forward as her swords fell from her hands. He got into her path and spread his arms, catching her as her body slammed into his and he fell back. He grunted as they hit the ground and they both sat up a little, looking at the now empty hole in the wall. “What the fuck was that?” he asked, looking down at her. 

“I- I have no idea,” she released, pulling herself from the ground and he followed suit. “A-an abnormal?” she asked, moving quickly towards the opening, grabbing the crumbling wall as she leaned outside, looking at the monster in front of her as it roared, looking at the titans it just punched. The sound of glass shattering made her turn, seeing Mikasa come flying in and landinging, followed by the boy with the buzzcut carrying Armin. “Thank god!” she breathed out.

“You’re-” Jean exclaimed, staring at the three. 

“Wow,” the boy with the buzzcut said, punching his gas tank. “Close one, I was running on fumes. We made it here though! Crazy, but we did!” he said happily. 

“You-- I-- Am I dreaming this, or what?” Jean asked, walking up to Mikasa as she began to stand. 

Leena watched the boy slap Armin’s back in praise. “You’re a certified genius!” he exclaimed happily. “From now on, far as I’m concerned, your word is law! Check it out! We found an Abnormal that’s got a bone to pick with its own kind,” he said, pointing to the whole. 

“Y-you are the ones that brought it here?” Leena asked, pointing at the hole. 

“He couldn’t care less about us!” he said happily. “That’s right! This big beautiful S.O.B is our ticket out of here!”

“It’s an abnormal!” Leena exclaimed with wide eyes. “They’re highly unpredictable! What? Are you trying to fight fire with fire?” she asked, looking back at the three with a look of terror. 

“Listen to yourself!” Jean exclaimed. “A Titan’s not gonna help us!”

Leena moved to Jean’s side now, the twoo, in her mind, seeming to be the only sane people. “There’s no way this can work g-”

“It’s working,” Mikasa exclaimed. 

“Leena,” Armin said, moving to her and looking down at her. “You have to trust me,” he said softly, looking into her eyes.

“For whatever reason, he’s rampaging against them,” Mikasa said, making Jean look at her. “Stand back and let him do it. Trust me, you’ll see.” The sounds of its screams filled the air, and Leena kept her eyes on Armin’s, making him nod at her. “Either way, what choice do we have?” Mikasa asked. “Right now, that thing is our best chance at survival.”

Leena released a groan. “Was this your idea?” she asked, looking at Armin. He nodded again and she sighed. “Fine.” she shook her head a little and walked back to the opening, lifting her leg up and resting it on the ledge of the wall, looking out to see the Titan brawling. 

“Look at him go,” the buzzcut boy said. “This guy makes the others look like total weaklings,” he said with a little laugh. 

“What’s your name kid?” Leena said over her shoulder. 

“Me?” the boy with the buzzcut asked, making her raise a brow and turn to him, nodding. “Conny, ma’am.”

“Ew, don’t call me ma’am,” she said, making a face. “Either Captain or Leena. Armin, you and I have some brainstorming to do. If we have any hopes of getting out of here, we have to take back the supply room,” she said, nodding at him and began walking. “I only have two spare tanks of gas, not nearly enough to save you all.” 

Leena led the way to the lift room, not speaking as the group of cadets followed her. As soon as she entered, she moved and began using the crank to pull up the lift as the cadets began sitting down in groups. Jean and a group of male cadets went to see if there were any useful materials. She sighed, leaning against the wall and biting her thumb. She was racking her brain and Armin stood, watching her as she did. 

“What’s the connection?” Conny asked, looking at him. 

“We all grew up together,” he said, looking at the boy. “She was with us during the attack on Shiganshina, but she went off to find her father. By the time she got to the boats, she was covered in blood, rumor spreading she had killed a Titan,” he said, watching her as she made a face of anger. 

“Was it true?” Reiner asked, furrowing his brows. 

Armin shook his head. “No, she had killed four,” he said, making them go wide-eyed. He nodded at their expression and continued, “she was our age back then, but her dad didn’t want her to join. He died that day, and she was recruited. That was the last time we all saw each other.”

“Was she always so… vicious?” Bertholt asked, looking at her. 

“No,” Armin said, shaking his head. “No, she was just a sweet girl, would rather have her books than anything.”

“What happened?” Reiner asked, looking up at the boy. 

“I watched my father get ripped in half.” The group jumped at the sound of Leena’s voice. As she emerged from the shadows, the group could see the darkness in her eyes. “All it takes is one traumatic experience to turn you into a completely different person,” she said as she reached them. “That day, I promised myself I wasn’t going to go down without a fight, I abandoned the person I was meant to be to become who I wanted to be.” She squatted down to look at them, slowly making eye contact with each member. “I won’t go without a fight, how about you?” she asked. They all stared at her with wide eyes, jaws dropping before she smirked and stood up, hearing the footsteps of Cadets. 

“Good news!” Jean called, making her turn to see them returning, large crates in hand. “Courtesy of the Military Police. And covered with a layer of dust.” 

Leena waved him over and they sat down the crates. She pulled a second dagger from her back and used it to pry the crate open, seeing muskets. “Good work, boys,” she said, nodding her head. She pulled the gun out and cocked it, looking down the scope. “It’s off sight so be sure to fix that before we do anything.” She put the strap over her arm as the boys began opening crates and distributing the guns, Armin came over with a map and laid it out on the ground, allowing her to crouch down beside Mikasa to take a look. “Strongest shot is buck so that’s probably the best bet.” 

“Are you absolutely sure buckshot is the way to go?” Jean asked, examining his gun. “Seems like we might as well throw spit wads.I mean, c’mon guys, are these guns even effective?”

“Not to kill, but they’re better than nothing,” Leena said, shaking her head. She looked to Armin. “I’m hoping you have been coming up with a plan of sorts?” she asked and he looked up at her, nodding. 

“We’re looking at eight Titans in the supply room of the four meters tall variety. If we time this perfectly, this much ammo oughta be enough to do the trick,” Armin said, nodding. Leena looked at him, begging for some elaboration. “Step one, we lower a group into the area via lift to get the Titans’ attention. Step two, when the Titans come within range, the group fires in all directions simultaneously, blinding them. Then the hard part, the moment of truth as it were. Before the Titans have time to recover, eight of us swoop down from the ceiling and strike their vital regions. That’s it. That’s the plan. Puts all our lives on the line. We screw up, we’re dead. That’s a hell of a risk for one attack, but it’s our only chance. Eight people have to slay eight Titans in one blow at the same time. We’re going to need the best of you,” Armin said, looking around, making Leena sigh. “The eight soldiers most physically gifted and adept with their paring blades. You’ll be the difference between life and death for the rest of us. I’m sorry, that’s how it is.”

“Fuck it,” Leena said, handing her gun off. “Let’s do it.”

“Seems like a sound plan,” Reiner said in agreement. 

Annie nodded her head. “When you get right down to it, the risk is the same for everyone. Doesn’t really matter who goes.”

Armin kept looking at his map. “Look, I-- I’m willing to be talked out of this. One half baked strategy can’t be our only option, right?”

“Hey,” Marco said, leaning forward to offer reassurance. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. C’mon, with what we’re looking at? ‘Cause for our only option, it’s pretty well thought-out. If we give it our all, we might just pull this off!”

“It’ll be fine,” Mikasa said, nodding. “You just have to be confident.”

Leena nodded and moved in front of him. “Armin, you’ve always been the man with the plan, far better than you give yourself credit for.” She watched him gulp nervously before nodding in affirmation. 

“That mind saved Eren and me more than once,” Mikasa said, making Leena lean back a little.

Armin sat confused, staring at the two. “When did I ever save you? That’s not-”

A bang sounded, making the girls turn to the lift seeing it was open.”Alright, lifts ready to go, guns are loaded to the stocks.”

“This is your plan,” Leena said, looking back at Armin. “And that is the only reason I’m trusting it. Have the faith we have in you, in us. We will get out of this.” she nodded at him and pulled out her swords. “Strike team, the seven best need to come down with me for the attack. Let’s do this.” her voice was powerful and she grabbed the handles of her swords, lacing her fingers in to hold the triggers. 

As seven 15 years olds stood in front of her, she looked among them. “Alright, so, best bet for us is to go down first, getting into the rafters and hiding in the shadows,” she said, making them all nod. “There are pillars in there, find them. We have about thirty second to get into position.” she turned from them and stepped into the lift. “When I give the signal, someone has to stop the lift so we can get out. Then bring it up as quick as you can and get in. We’ve only got one shot at this.” 

She turned back around in the lift and met the eyes of Armin, staring at her with worry and regret as she stared back. As the lift began going down, she pulled her swords fully, nodding at him. This was her way of saying everything will be fine, and with it, she disappeared into the darkness. 


	3. Supply Run

It was dark in the supply room, Leena holding her position in the rafters, looking around and seeing everyone else in position. She sighed a little, waiting for the right moment. As the lift came into view, she watched as it came to a stop and slowed her breathing. She cracked her neck as they all cocked their guns, gripping her swords tightly. One by one, the Titans began moving in, the cadets taking aim at their eyes, but there was hesitance, as there should have been. They all needed to be in range. The sound of Marco shouting fire started the firing, and Leena grunted, taking off sprinting parallel to Conny before jumping down, feeling something dig into her stomach as she went. A cry of pain erupted as she forced herself to spin, dragging her blades through her target’s nape. As she hit the ground, she heard Conny grunt, looking over to see him landing on his butt. 

“Sasha and Conny missed!” a voice screamed, forcing Leena’s legs to move. 

As the Titan moved towards Conny, Leena sliced its ankles, jumping onto its back as it fell. In a swift movement, she tore through its neck and looked over to see Mikasa had taken care of Sasha’s. She stood on the creature’s back as steam began rising, showing it was beginning to evaporate. She looked to Conny, seeing his fearful face. She moved quickly. “Are you okay?” she shouted, hopping off the titan and walking to him. He began stuttering and she gripped his jaw, forcing him to look at her. “Are you hurt?” she asked and he shook his head frantically. 

“I owe you one,” he said, offering a thankful smile. 

She shook her head, releasing him. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Wow,” a voice said from behind her. She turned to see Reiner looking down at her with a smirk. “By the skin of your teeth,” he said, crossing his arms. “You’re damn lucky you didn’t end up worse off.”

She raised a brow and turned from him, carefully placing her hand on her stomach, walking to check on Mikasa and Jean released a sigh. “They're all dead! Start loading up supplies!”

Leena looked up to the lift, seeing the smiling Cadets and she smirked a little as they rejoiced. “Bring the lift on down!” she called, waving them down. She crossed her arms as she watched them meet the ground, smirking as she locked eyes with Armin. The boy was smiling as the lift gate dropped, letting him walk to her. “Told you it was going to be fine,” she said, nodding up at him. 

“You were right,” he said, nodding. 

“No,” she said, punching his shoulder. “You were.” His smile made her nod and look around. “Alright, let’s fill up and scoot, we don’t have much time and we need to get out of this hell hole as fast as we can.” Her voice was loud and all the Cadets sprang to action and she did as well, quickly detaching the gas tank from her back and began replacing it, putting a leg up on a landing to hold her gear up to do her work. 

She worked silently as the young soldiers all worked to get the supplies ready, and once she had the empty tank free, she brought it to the large metal containers to refill. As the clasp of the gas tank attached, she clenched her jaw a little, looking down at her stomach, seeing red liquid slowly start to spread. She had sliced her stomach when she was dropping down, getting snagged on a hook on her way, apparently Reiner had seen it happen, or he wouldn’t have made his earlier comment. 

As a hand grasped her shoulder, she turned quickly, ready to hit whoever it was with the gas tank. She looked up, meeting the eyes of the large blonde. “You’re bleeding,” he pointed out looking down at her stomach. 

“Im fine,” she said, looking back to her gas gage seeing it was almost full. 

He rolled his eyes. “Come on, you’re helping save our asses. We found some medical supplies too, let me at least patch you up as a thank you,” he said, making her look up at him with distrustful eyes. “Armin will vouch for me, I’m just trying to help.” 

Leena forced her eyes to go to Armin, seeing him fiddle with a tank of gas, trying to keep a lid on it. “Fine,” she muttered, pulling the hose off her tank and putting a lid on it. She began walking towards a platform, stopping once she reached it, setting down the gas in her hand. “Go get what you need,” she muttered, pulling off her jacket. He nodded and moved to get the supplies.

Leena removed the other casing on her back and began undoing the straps of her ODM gear, carefully setting the machinery down before undoing the harness across her chest. Then came time for the shirt. Leena worked at the buttons and as Reiner approached her from behind, she pulled it off, revealing her restrictive cropped shirt she had underneath. She turned to face him, pulling up the bottom of her shirt a bit to show the gash in its full, it was shallow thankfully, but it was enough for it to be bleeding quite a bit. 

Reiner sat down most of the supplies, holding a rag and alcohol. He doused the fabric and moved in. “This is gonna sting,” he said, eyeing her face and as he pressed the wet cloth to the wound, she didn’t even flinch. “I’m Reiner, by the way,” he said, looking at her torso as he carefully dabbed the wound. 

“Leena,” she said, nodding a little. She looked down at him as he carefully dabbed at her skin. “Thanks,” she said, making him look up at her. 

“Dont worry about it,” he said, smirking a little. He pulled away and grabbed some gause and a long bandage. He carefully placed the gause and held one end of the bandage in place. “Want to hold this for a second?” he asked, allowing her to drop a hand and hold the piece in place, he began using his hands to circle around her body. This allowed her to release the bandage as he wrapped her torso. “How do you do it?” he asked, making her look at him with a raised brow. “Without any hesitation or fear?”

“Who said I’m not afraid?” she asked as he wrapped it around her one more time, tucking the end of the bandage in place. As he stood fully, he tilted his head as he looked down at her. “I’m terrified, everyday. But, I also know it's my duty. I’d rather be scared while doing the right thing than sitting comfy and watching it all unfold. We have a duty, the walls aren’t going to hold, obviously, so it’s up to us to protect our kind. In the end, the only thing we have control over in this world is ourselves, so we must decide what we plan to do. It’s not about being scared or fearless, it’s about understanding what the world needs of us.” 

His eyes were wide and she moved from him, picking up her shirt. “You should be scared,” she said, pulling her arms through the sleeves and starting to button it. “But, you also have to understand that they aren’t unkillable.” he stared at her as she continued pulling on all of her gear, taking a few minutes to do so. “Reiner, right?” she asked, raising a brow at him and he nodded. “They aren’t unkillable, and they aren’t the top of the food chain,” she said, placing the last gas tank on her back and grabbed her jacket, walking from him. “Are we ready?” she bellowed, hearing everyone shout in determination. “Then let’s get the fuck out of here!” 

By the time they reached the upper levels of HQ, Leena took point, standing under an arch with a collection of Cadets behind her. She nodded her head, most of the cadets taking off, but as her eyes moved up, she saw Mikasa standing on a rooftop, her back to her. Armin launched himself up after her and Leena followed. As she reached them, she saw what they were staring at. The abnormal that had helped them was being devoured, his body stuck in a crumbling building. 

“Can he not regenerate like the others?” Armin asked in a shaky voice. 

Mikasa stared at it and Leena shook her head a little at the sight. “This may sound stupid,” Mikasa said softly. “But I was hoping he’d be the key for us. That he’d help mankind break the cycle. Turn the tide just long enough to give us a little ray of hope.”

“She’s right,” a voice said from behind Leena, making her jump. She turned to see Reiner, looking at the Titan as well. “He’s too valuable to just let die. There’s too much we can learn from him. I think it’s clear our priority should be to ward the scavengers off him. He’s no good to us picked apart.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Jean shouted, looking at the boy. “We’ve got a path out of this nightmare and you wanna stay?” he questioned. 

“He’s right,” Leena said. “I came out here to save you guys, we need to retreat.” 

Annie looked at him with a bored expression. “Think about it, having an Abnormal as an ally would be an incredible advantage, right? A cannon’s got nothing on a Titan who likes to rip apart his own kind.”

Jean was taken back. “You-- Do you hear yourself? He’s not like a new friend!”

Leena heard footsteps and stepped in front of the cadets, swords tightly clasped in her hands. “We got another coming,” she sounded. 

“Oh no,” Armin released. “It’s the one that ate Thomas!” he exclaimed. 

The name meant nothing to Leena, but she knew it was probably a friend of the boy. The Abnormal released a monstrous roar as it lurched forward, knocking a few Titans off it, its arms ripping off as the Titans fell. The Abnormal lurched again, sinking its teeth into the Titan’s neck and lifting it off the ground, making Leena drop her jaw. The Abnormal smashed the Titan into the ground before hurling it into another, the two flying into a building. 

“Oh shit,” she breathed out as the Abnormal released another roar. 

“What was that you were saying?” Jean asked. Leena watched as the Abnormal swayed a little before dropping, landing face down on the ground, she gasped a little, blinking a few times at the sight. “‘Cause I think it’s a moot point now.” Leena kept her eyes on it but Jean turned from the group. “Alright, enough of this! Let’s leave while we can. We’re lucky the ugly bastard didn’t get bored. We’d have been next on the menu.” No one moved as the steam began to rise from the body, and he grumbled, moving back to them. “Look, a Titan’s a Tita-”

“W-what the fuck is that?” Leena whispered as the back of the neck split open, a body visible through the mist. The body began to slowly rising, ripping itself from the muscle of the titan and leaning back, its face directed up to the sky. “I-is that,” she whispered, her eyes wide as she stared at the face of the boy. Mikasa launched herself off the building, landing on the street and moving quickly for the boy.

“Mikasa!” Armin shouted after her. 

The sound of her crying filled the air and Leena and Armin launched themselves from the building. Leena stood still as Armin ran after her, and soon the whole group was by Leena’s side. “Eren,” Leena whispered. “What the hell?”

Leena couldn’t hear anything that was being said, and the four cadets by her all stood in silence as she watched it all happening. After a few minutes, she grunted. She began moving the three who sat in the rotting corpse of the abnormal. “Move,” she said, making the two crying teens look up at her. She grabbed his wrist and used all her strength to pull him up, dipping down and hoisting him over her shoulders. “We need to get to the high ground,” she said, looking at him as she held him in place, using her gear to move. The cadets watched her heading for the top of HQ and they all followed, landing where she had to see her carefully lay him on the ground. Mikasa quickly moved to her, grabbing the boy and she took a few steps back, seeing the girl hug him and continue to cry. He seemed to be asleep as she hugged him, and Leena went to the edge, trying to see how far they would have to go to get to safety. 

“Okay,” Jean said quietly, making Leena turn to look at him, seeing him look at all the corpses that were disintegrating in the streat. “So uh-- Eren did all this?” he asked. 

“We don’t know anything yet,” she said quietly. They all looked at her and she sighed. “You’re going to be sworn to secrecy,” she said softly. “No one can know this happened. Do you understand? When we get to base, you all need to get far from us, I’m going to take those three and try to find someone we can trust.”

Leena did as she said, moving on the outskirts of the base and making for the wall, leading the other two who were carrying Eren. Once they reached the other side of the wall, they were immediately greeted by military force. “Fuck,” she whispered. She moved forward, holding her swords in hand, standing in front of the three teens, Mikasa standing and ready to fight. “Stand down,” she ordered, looking at them all. “Stay back,” Leena released, taking a few steps closer, seeing the Garrison Captain Kitz Weilman staring at her in a mixture of rage and fear. 

“Captain Leena Novikoff!” the Captain shouted, a tense tone in his voice as she put away her weapons. “You have been caught red handed attempting to sneak that abomination past us and further into the Interior! Due to the lack of military police presence, we call for your arrest in the name of the Garrison Regiment.”

“Under what charge?” Leena shouted in return, a snarl being released as she glared at him. 

“Treason,” he said, furrowing his brows at her. 

Armin had tears in his eyes as he watched Leena not even flinch at the accusation. “You are a fool,” she returned. 

“Do you deny these claims?” Kitz shouted, making her glare. “You were caught in the act, Captain.”

“If you want me, come and take me, you aren’t getting to him without going through me.”

“Soldiers, take the Captain into custody,” he ordered. 

As a group of four hopped down, placing their weapons away and starting in at her. Mikasa released a noise and began moving to Leena’s side but she put a hand out. “You protect Eren,” she shouted. “I can handle this,” she breathed. She began taking steps towards them, bringing her fists up. The moment one was in reach, she jumped up and kicked him in the face, sending him into the ground. The Garrison Captain watched as she evaded all their advances and beat the absolute shit out of them, grabbing the last one and putting him in a choke hold. “What do you want out of this, Weilman?” she shouted, holding the man in place as he gasped for air. 

The sound of slight laughter filled the air. “You’re all gonna die,” a raspy voice released and Leena grimaced, now knowing Eren had come to. 

Leena heard Mikasa and Armin trying to talk to him but one of the Elites spoke up. “You catch that? He said we’re all gonna die!” he exclaimed, making Leena look up at him. “There’s not much else you can make of that. Son of a bitch wants to eat us. You watch!”

Leena clenched her jaw for a moment. “He isn’t going to hurt anyone!” she shouted, trying to get the people to calm down. “Lower your weapons and let’s discuss this like rational adults, Weilman!” 

“Shut your mouth, Traitor!” Kitz shouted, making her grip tighten on the Elite. “Cadets Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Akermann, and Armin Arlett!” he shouted. “The three of you have jointly committed an act of high treason under the guidance of one Captain Leena Novikoff! Whether not a swift execution is the result depends on you! Any attempt to move from where you stand now, anything I deem the least bit suspicious, will be met with cannon fire, do not test me. Novikoff, release my man at once!” he demanded. Leena growled in the man’s ear and he flinched, but she released him, allowing him to gather his three comrades and pull them from the line of fire. She stood tall in front of the group. “Answer carefully! Eren Jaeger, what exactly are you? Human? Or Titan?”

Leena stood her ground, trying to be some sort of defense for her childhood friends. There were a few moments of silence before she heard Eren release a noise. “I’m sorry sir! I don’t understand!” Eren sounded. 

Leena watched as Kitz's face went to astonishment and rage as he spoke under his breath. “Answer me, damn you!” he exclaimed, making Leena grab onto her swords. “Evasion will get you nowhere! Don’t try to stall with pretend ignorance! You won’t stand a chance! You’ll be blown to hell before you can assume your true form!”

“What true form?” Eren asked, and Leena could hear the sincerity in his voice.

“Please! Scores of us saw it happen!” Kitz shouted. “You emerged from the carcass of a fallen Titan in full view of your comrades!” Leena’s eyes began to survey the terrain as he continued to scream. She saw the cannons up above them, the number of soldiers holding them and gun point and those bearing swords in front of them. She began thinking of an escape plan, not knowing what this would lead to. She was ignoring their claims, Mikasa standing up against them, and Armin trying to talk her out of it. She pulled her swords finally. 

“I’m human!” Eren screamed, pulling Leena back to reality. 

As Leena saw the captain beginning to raise his arm, her eyes widened. She turned and broke out into a sprint. “Mikasa! Get Eren!” she screamed as she ran for Armin. Mikasa turned and grabbed Eren while Leena grabbed the blonde, pulling him for the wall. 

“Get to the wall!” Mikasa screamed. 

“Hold on to me!” Leena screamed, getting ready to ascend. Armin gripped onto her but Eren grabbed her, biting his hand. He hugged the two into him and extended his hand out. The sound of a cannon erupting filled the air and Leena covered Armin’s head. It was as if lightning struck, and around them, a rib cage formed out of thin air, muscle wrapping around it. Leena’s eyes were closed as she fell a few feet, her back connecting with the ground and Armin on her. When she opened her eyes, she saw the inside of a rib cage and no sign of Eren. “O-oh god,” she whispered as Armin forced himself off her. A rumble sounded, the head moving. She could hear Kitz barking orders and her heart beating in her chest. She couldn’t see anything, the steam and smoke creating a mask in front of them. 

Armin was in a full panic. “I know I heard them fire a cannon at us, and then--” he whispered out. “Then there was a tremendous crash and a blast of heat. Apparently we’re now in the innards of a giant skeleton.”

“Eren did this for us, Armin,” Mikasa released, making him look at her. 

Leena nodded. “He was protecting us,” she whispered, looking at her surroundings. 

“That’s all we need to understand for now.” 

Leena could hear footsteps and got her swords ready, but the sound of their names made her sigh in relief. “Armin! Mikasa! Leena!” Eren exclaimed, coming around the bones and looking in at them. “Are you guys alright?” he asked, immediately moving to Leena,dropping to his knees and throwing his arms around her, letting her hug him tightly for the first time in five years. 

“You don’t know how to stay out of trouble do you,” she released as he let her go, looking at the other two. 

“Eren… how’d you--?” Armin asked in panic. 

“I don’t know,” Eren said, the same amount of panic in his voice. “But look, it’s already started to vaporize, just like the corpse of a Titan. Let’s get out of here,” he said, turning, making Leena pull herself from her crouch. He moved through the mist, Leena going beside him. “Hard to tell if they're watching and waiting, or just totally dazed. I suppose it doesn’t really matter much either way.” 

The sound of Mikasa standing behind her made Leena shake her head a little. “Once the smoke clears they’ll resume,” she said, squinting to see through the smoke. “After this, we lost any chance we had to reason with them,” she said, making a gesture to the carcass behind them. 

Leena looked to Eren as he held a key he was wearing around his neck. “The cellar,” he said, shaking his head a little. “I’m starting to remember… this key… our house in Shiganshina! My father said I’d have to go back there. Everything hinged on it! I think its why he gave me the power to transform. If I can make it back to our cellar, I might learn the Titans’ secrets.” Leena watched him lower the key, furiously thinking as he began pacing. In a swift movement, he punched one of the large bones that was still standing. “Why did he keep this stuff a secret? How many thousands of Scouts have already died because my father didn’t share this information? It could be the last chance humanity has! And the answer’s been hidden away under our house this entire time? Is he insane? Damn him!”

Mikasa began walking over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Eren,” she said, making him jump. “We have other business to deal with.”

“The smoke is starting to clear,” Leena said, looking up a little. She eyed the head. “I’ll make more smoke, you three make a plan,’ she said, nodding at them before using her gear to get up to the shoulders and she quickly placed her hands on the skull, pushing it forward with a large crack. As it plummeted, she dove off the skeleton, using her gear to slow her fall as the skull connected, it busted, more smoke spreading. She quickly moved to the three teens, crouching down. 

“Listen, I’m getting out of here,” Eren said, looking at the three. 

“Where? And how?” Armin asked in disbelief. 

“Anywhere but here,” Eren said, shaking his head. “Then I head over the wall and straight to Shiganshina.”

“I’ll go with you,” Leena said, nodding and looking at him. He looked at her in confusion as he began to protest and she shook her head. “I’m already on death row with that claim of treason, might as well get out while I can.”

Eren looked at her for a moment but nodded. “But I’ll have to become a Titan again,” he said, looking at his hand. 

“You can transform at will?” Armin asked in amazement. 

Eren looked up at him. “To be honest, I don’t know how I’m doing it Armin. I just know that I can. It’s hard to put into words.”

The sound of footsteps grabbed Leena’s attention. “Figure out a plan,” she said standing. “I’ll handle this,” she said softly, moving quickly in a crouched position into the smoke. She silently moved, sneaking up behind an Elite and covering his mouth, flipping him onto the ground and knocking him unconscious. The sound of a war cry grabbed her attention and she turned to see a man running at her with his sword high. She pulled a sword and deflected his blow before moving in and head butting him, making him fall back onto the ground and she slammed his head against the ground. She put her sword back and began moving, knowing there were at least two more Elites lurking. She quickly disposed of them, and their screams filled the air. As she returned to the teens, they stared at her wide eyed. “Calm down, they aren’t dead, just knocked out. What’s the plan?” she asked, looking at the three. 

“Armin,” Eren released, making it clear they were waiting for him to make a decision. 

Leena watched him for about a minute before he shot to his feet. “I will persuade them, trust me. You three just act non-aggressively as you possibly can, agreed?” he asked. Leena smirked and nodded at him as the other two did.

Armin turned and began walking through the smoke. Leena made for the wall, grappling up a little getting ready to swoop in and grab him in case things went south. As she climbed up more, she heard the shouting of the Captain and the declaration made by Armin about Eren. she turned, dangling as she did, above the smoke now as she saw the men start lowering their weapons but the Captain’s fear took over. On his order, they all raised their weapons again and she launched herself over the smoke, rolling into a landing position before she began standing. “You’re fear has wiped you of your senses!” she declared, pointing at the man. 

“Hold your tongue, you snake!” he shouted back. 

“I will not!” she shouted. “Eren means no harm to humanity!”

“You don’t know that!” he shouted. “And you’re aligned with him! If you won’t go peacefully, you’ll be blown away with them, Novikoff!”

“I won’t let you get to them while I li-”

“I am a soldier!” Armin screamed, silencing Leena and making her turn. She saw his right fist over his heart as he held a look of determination. “And I have dedicated my heart to the restoration of humanity, sir! Nothing could make me prouder than dying for such a noble cause! If we were to use his Titan ability and combine it with the manpower we have left, I believe we can do it! We can retake this city! For humanity’s glory, in what little time I have left to live, I will advocate for his strategic value!” 

Leena had an amazed look on her face as she stared at him. Hearing one of the soldiers say it was worth consideration but the Captain wanted nothing to do with it. “Quiet!” he screamed, silencing the man. As he began raising his hand, calling for cannon fire again, Leena turned, sprinting at Armin, trying to grab his arms and move to retreat. 

“That’s enough!” a voice called, forcing Leena to stop and turn, seeing someone had grabbed the captain by the arm. Leena couldn’t help but smile widely. “You should really do something about your nervous Disposition, Captain Weilman.”

“C-Commander Pixis!” Kitz released, shock filling his voice. 

“Can you not see this soldier’s heartfelt salute?’ the Commander asked, looking at Armin. He began walking to the platform’s edge, looking over the situation. “I’ve only just arrived, but I’m quite aware of our situation. “ He eyed Kitz for a moment, smirking. “Gather our reinforcements. I think we should at least do these young soldiers the favor of hearing them out.” Armin dropped to his knees in relief as Leena stared at the Commander with a large smile. He looked at her and smirked. “And our beautiful little Leena Novikoff!” he exclaimed. “Now what have you gotten yourself into this time?” he asked, raising a brow and she released an innocent laugh and grabbed the back of her neck. She watched his eyes survey the lowground, seeing the unconscious Garrison men. “Your handiwork?” he asked, raising a brow. 

Leena sighed and hung her head. “Yes, Sir.”


	4. Trial and Error

Leena stood on top of the wall now, looking out over the city as they all began devising the plan. Eren had agreed to try and move a large rock into the hole in the wall, and she was trying to figure out how she could help. The bleeding from her stomach increased with all the added stress, but she didn’t want to tell anyone, fearing that they would pick up on her weakness. The Titans below her, and she released a grumble sound from her throat. She knew they had to retake Trost, but she was trying to figure out how the makeshift plan they had devised would work. 

“Leena,” Armin called, making her turn around, “come here,” he said, waving her over. She nodded her head and moved to him, resting a hand on his back as she looked down at the map he had in front of him. Behind her she could hear the Commander addressing the soldiers who were on the opposite side of the wall. Armin began relaying the plan to Leena, two teams, one on titan clean up duty and one team assigned to protecting Eren. She nodded her head slowly as she listened. “Do you think it will work?” he asked looking down at her.

“It's your plan, I have no doubt that we will be fine,” she said, nodding and looking at him. “Where do you want me?” she asked, looking up at him. 

“Well, depending on who goes with Eren, I’d prefer you to go with the larger group so you can pick off any Titans that would branch off or if we get too many too close to the wall,” he said, nodding at her again. “You’d be with me.”

She looked down at the map again. “Okay, unless I get a direct order, I’m with you,” she said, nodding her head. 

“Once again, if you have a better plan in mind, I’m willing to be convinced,” he said and she looked back up at him, glaring into his eyes. “What,” he asked, furrowing his brows. 

Leena rolled her eyes, “I told you, it's a good plan, I completely trust your judgement. We got this, alright?” she asked, dropping her hand from his back, nodding and beginning to walk away.

Armin sighed and looked back to the map, feeling eyes on him, he looked up to see the team leader, Rico Brzenska, staring at him in confusion. “What?” he asked, furrowing his brows. 

“D-did Captain Novikoff actually just follow your plan with no criticism?” she asked, looking at him intently. Armin just looked more confused. “She has been a loose cannon ever since she joined the Scouts, the only people to ever get her to actually follow orders is Erwin Smith, their commander.”

Armin stared at her for a second, looking down briefly but then met her eyes again. “Earlier, Commander Pixis asked what she got herself into again… what did he mean by that?”

She sighed, looking at the girl as she spoke to a few Elites, explaining what they would be doing with her. “She’s gotten herself into quite a few sticky situations, she’s lucky she has such a close bond with the commanders or she probably would have been executed by now.”

“B-but I thought she was a Scouts Captain?” Armin asked, fear covering his face. 

“She is! No in the field, she is one of the top captains, only falling under Captain Levi Ackerman, but she never really got along with anyone other than the commanders, so they’ve always gotten her out of trouble,” she explained, shaking her head. “How is it exactly that you know each other?”

“She was one of my best friends growing up,” Armin responded, looking at Leena as she stood with her arms crossed, peering out over the city. “She really wasn’t a trouble maker or anything back then, though.”

“Well, words going around that back when she first joined it was because she watched her father get eaten by a titan. They thought she had like a psychotic break or something, honestly, I could see it happening, just because of some of the crazy shit she does.” Rico shrugged a little. “I don’t know how she’s going to get out of this one though… she resisted arrest, attacked 8 different Garrison soldiers, committed an act of treason, and practically threatened Captain Weilman’s life…”

“She was just defending herself, and protecting us,” Armin said in disbelief.

Rico looked at him. “Yeah, well, she and Weilman have a pretty rough past, I wouldn’t put it past him to put a formal request in to the MP,” she said. “It’s not like she doesn’t know what’s going to come out of this though.”

  
  
  


Leena stood off from the pack of soldiers on the wall, watching the group that had lowered themselves down to lure Titans. She pulled her swords, getting ready to start picking enemies off. They had managed to corral most of the titans in the corner furthest from the breach, combat being avoided as much as possible. Leena was the only one allowed to fully attack if she deemed it necessary, and if Titans started veering off, that's exactly what she did. She dropped down, attaching her gear in the wall so she could swing around and cut down a line of Titans. Those on the wall watched her quickly spinning, cutting down eight Titans in one pass, some snapping to try and eat her as she passed, but she managed to evade all of their advances. 

She flipped backwards, landing on her feet at the top of the wall. The sound of a gunshot grabbed her attention, seeing red smoke fly up into the sky. “Shit!” she shouted. 

“Captain Leena! We got stragglers!” an Elite shouted, making her look over to see three slowly moving from the pack. 

“On it!” she shouted. She moved to the opposite side of the wall before sprinting, launching off the side and using her gear to propel herself over the group. She shot an anchor forward, landing onto a building's peak before forcing herself to the side. As she swung in a circle, she extended her blades, cutting the backs of their necks as she moved by them. She released her anchor once she was facing the wall again, sending her flying. She attached to the wall and launched up, landing in front of Pixis. “They failed,” she said as soon as she landed. 

“I see,” he said nodding. 

“Armin! Where are you going?” Marco shouted, making Leena look over to see him sprinting. 

She looked back at the commander and he nodded. “Go with him, help them figure this out.”

Leena nodded once and took off sprinting after the blonde. “Armin!” she called, making him turn his head and slow so she could catch up. “What’s the plan?” she asked, the two running together. 

“Wh-what?” he stuttered out, confused. 

She rolled her eyes, sprinting still. “I told you, I’m with you!”

“Then… we do whatever it takes to help Eren and Mikasa,” he declared and she nodded. 

“That’s what I like to hear,” she said with a smirk. “Follow me!” she shouted before hurling herself off the wall, starting to grapple her way to the rock’s location. Armin followed, keeping up with her as she wasn’t going at full speed, the pain in her stomach growing with every flex of her core muscles, keeping herself stable. 

“Leena!” Armin shouted, making her look at him. “You’re bleeding a lot!” he exclaimed, soaring at her side. 

“Ignore it,” she shouted, spinning and killing a Titan in their path before stabilizing herself again. “That’s what I’m doing!” As they reached the rocks location, they landed on a rooftop. Leena looked down, seeing Eren’s Titan body sitting and hunched over. “Shit,” she breathed out. 

“Eren,” Armin released. “Come on. What are you doing? Wake up!” he shouted. 

Leena looked over and saw a collection of 10 meter Titans coming into the gate. “Figure this out, I’ll help the squad keep them off,” she said, looking at him and he nodded. “You got this!” she shouted before running and jumping, moving over the rooftops to fight off Titans. 

She launched herself up and dropped down, cutting the neck of one right in front of the squad, making it fall before she brought herself to the roof. “Captain?” Ian shouted, making her look at him. “What are you doing out here?” he exclaimed as she made her way to him and his partner. 

“Looked like you needed some back up. You saw the 10s?” she asked, making him nod his head. “We gotta take the fuckers out,” she said, nodding her head and she turned to run. 

“Wait, you’re injured!” Ian shouted, grabbing her wrist. 

“It’s just a scratch,” she said, shaking her head. “We have much larger things to worry about.” She huffed, pulling her arm from him. “Pun intended. We have to protect Eren,” she demanded, turning and sprinting off. Leena jumped, propelling herself forward again, heading towards the hole in the wall. She was going to cut them off at the source, not letting anymore into the city. 

Leena reached the wall, those in the city seeing her swing back and forth in front of the hole, cutting down Titan after Titan, only moving from it if one came towards her and killing them before regaining position. What they couldn’t see, was Leena’s shirt dripping with blood or the paleness of her face.

A bellowing roar sounded and she looked over, seeing Eren standing, carrying the rock over his head. She was growing more and more light headed, and every time she began to lose vision, she did her best to shake it away. She tried to focus again, making sure what she was seeing was true, and she slammed her sword into the wall, hoping to keep herself steady. In this moment, five Titans had slipped through and she cursed, diving down and slicing through the sixth that entered. 

Leena shot back up to the wall, seeing Eren was making his way slowly. “Protect him!” she screamed, making the soldiers bolt. She looked to the ground, seeing a group running up behind the five titans, grabbing their attention to pull them, but behind them was a group of three beasts. She jumped from the wall, making her way behind the group and moving for the three, cutting through them before she saw another coming through the hole. She made her way back, using all her speed, becoming dizzier by the second. She sliced through it as Mikasa slaughtered one behind her. 

Leena launched herself up to the wall, slamming her sword into it and held on for her life as Eren slammed the rock down directly under her, making the wall shake. She released a pained scream as her grip tightened. She looked out, seeing a yellow flair being shot up. Her eyes went wide when she realized they succeeded. 

Steam began rising and the heat only added to Leena’s fatigue. Below her, Armin, Mikasa and Rico were working to free Eren from the Titan’s body. Leena looked up weakly, seeing two Titans. “Watch out!” she shouted, accidentally releasing her anchor, forcing her to drop one of her swords and hold on for dear life. As her head began to wobble, the sword began sliding from the wall. She didn’t see the two Titans fall behind her, or the man that did it. The blade broke, and she began plummeting down. 

“Leena!” Armin screamed, hearing the blade break and looking up to see her start falling. 

Two arms grabbed her in the air and when he landed, Captain Levi Ackerman looked down at her, a look of concern covering his face. Turning towards the group sitting on the back of the Titan carcass, his expression hardened instantly. “Pay attention kiddos,” he said, looking up from the girl in his arms. “This is the part where you explain to me exactly what it is I’m looking at.” 

As Rico moved forward, Levi jumped down, laying Leena down and tearing her soaked shirt open. She began explaining everything to him as he unwrapped Leena’s gauze, revealing the bleeding wound. Once he knew what had happened, he nodded and looked at them. “Did you know she was fighting with this?” he asked, looking across the group. 

Armin bit the inside of his cheek. “I knew she had a cut but I didn’t know how bad it was,sir,” he said, looking at the man. 

“I’m not surprised you didn’t,” Levi said, shaking his head and grabbing his handkerchief, folding it a few times and pressing it against the wound. He took off his green cloak, lifting her body a little to wrap it tightly around her torso. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Leena woke up abruptly, sitting up in bed, frantically looking around. She felt no chains on her body, but it was clear she was in a cell of sorts. She looked down, seeing from the tops of her breasts to her belly button she was wrapped in bandages, leather pants on her lower half and a blanket was bundled at her feet. 

“You’re awake,” a voice sighed, making her look up, seeing two men sitting outside her cell. “What did you get yourself into this time, Leena?” Erwin asked, shaking his head. 

“Well, considering you’re both here, I assume you know,” she said with a groan and forced herself out of the bed. 

“Lay down,” Levi said from his spot, leaning against the wall. “You’ll only injure yourself more.”

Leena smirked and moved to the bars, resting her arm above her head. “Aw, someone worried about little old me?” she jeered, looking at him, then shifting her gaze to Erwin. “How did I get here and how long was I out?” she asked.

“Well,” Levi said, drawing her attention back to him. “You fell from the wall, unconscious, and I had to catch you. By the time we got you out, Weilman was waiting with a squad. They took you and brought you here. And this is day two.”

“What charges is he throwing at me for this?” she asked, rolling her eyes. 

“Multiple counts of treason,” Erwin huffed out, seemingly impressed, crossing his arms in his seat. “We have; harbouring the Jaeger boy, threatening a Garrison Captain, assaulting eight Garrison Elites, and something about abandoning your post to go on a rescue mission.”

“The last one is a stretch,” she said with an eye roll. 

Erwin raised a brow. “So you don’t deny the other claims?” he asked. 

“No, I did those,” she said, shaking her head. “I assume I’ll be going on trial?” she asked, tilting her head. 

“Both you and Eren Jaeger,” he said, nodding. Leena groaned a little. “Leena, I don’t know how I would possibly be able to get you out of this.”

“It's not your job to,” she said, her voice in a slightly higher octave. “Look, I can handle this, he’s going to have to have proof that says I’d do it again.”

“You would do it again,” Levi scoffed through slitted eyes. 

“But I also have a secret, devaluing all his claims,” she said with a smirk. “If I do it right, I’ll live, and his reputation will be shredded.”

“Leena, I don’t know what you think you have on him, but he has witnesses, and your confession,” Erwin said. 

“I’ll handle it. If I’m found guilty, I die, but you know I’m not going down without a fight. I need a favor,” she said, looking between the two men. “Don’t worry about me, you two make sure Eren gets aquitted.”

“You’re an idiot if you think I’m not going to fight for your life as well,” Erwin said, squinting his eyes. 

“That boy can turn the tides of war,” Leena said, gripping the bars in her hands. She looked between the two men intently. “I’m just a soldier, alright? If he learns to control his new abilities, he will be the turning point for humanity.”

Erwin looked at her with disbelief, surveying her as best he could and he furrowed his large brows. “What aren’t you saying?” he asked. 

Leena sighed and let her head hang a little before peering up at him. “He was one of my closest friends growing up… Erwin, he’s just a kid.”

Erwin sighed a little, leaning back into his chair. “That’s why you tried to sneak him out,” he said, looking down. Leena nodded a little and he sighed. “Well, we already planned on aiding him. Let us aid you too.”

“I will take care of it,” Leena said, shaking her head. 

Levi stared at her for a second and shook his head. “You’re little friend is a bit off his rocker, you know,” he said, making her look at him. “Our plan is for him to fall under my command, that way I can keep an eye on him. If you are insistent of doing this on your own, you better start recalling all the intel you have against the captain. I doubt he’s going to be there.”

She nodded her head. “I got this.”

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Leena stood in her cell, just having put a white off the shoulder blouse over her bandages and tucked it into her leather pants. She had seen Eren being escorted to trial, making it a matter of time before someone came to collect her. She pulled her boots on as a shadow came into view. She looked up and was greeted by Captain Levi looking down at her. “Ready?” he asked. She stood fully and nodded her head, moving to the door as he passed her hand cuffs. Her eyes widened as she eyed them for a moment, moving to the desk in her cell and grabbing a hair pin. “Is that really necessary?” he asked, rolling his eyes as she pinned back her hair a little. 

“Have to look good for the Premiere,” she said with a smirk before she put the cuffs on. She began walking to the gate. As it was pulled open, Levi waited for her to join his side, the two beginning their journey with MP escorts. “How many?” she asked. 

“The rooms packed,” Levi said simply. 

“Good,” Leena said, still holding her smirk. 

Levi shook his head a little, walking slowly. “I just hope you know what you’re doing,” he released.

Leena remained quiet, their walk stopping as the doors to the courtroom opened. In the front, she saw Eren, cuffed and restrained with a large bar, holding him in a kneeling position. She held her head high, walking to the front of the room, Levi leaving her side to stand beside Erwin. The MP didn’t see the point of using the bar on her, as she wasn’t going to transform in the center of the room. She stood with her hands in front of her, held by chains, looking up at the white haired man, nodding her head in recognition and he rolled up his sleeves. “All right. Shall we begin?” he asked, looking at the people in the room. Eren gasped a little, looking up at him. “Alright, there are two matters we must attend to. Your name,” he said, looking briefly to the boy beside Leena. “Is Eren Jaeger, and as a soldier, you have sworn to give up your life when called to, for the good of the people. Is that correct?” he asked, looking at Eren again. 

“Yes,” Eren said softly. 

“And you,” he said, looking at Leena. “Captain Leena Novikoff of the Scouts, have risked your life these past four years under Commander Erwin Smith. Correct?”

“Yes, Sir,” she said calmly, nodding her head. 

“As two two enlisted soldiers during a time of war, military doctrine demands your tribunal be held as a court-martial. As commander of our armed forces, this matter is left to my discretion. Thus, I will decide whether you live or die. Any objections.”

“None, Sir,” Leena said, nodding her head. 

“No, Sir,” Eren said, looking down. 

Premier Zachary nodded his head. “Your astuteness is appreciated, let us proceed.” Leena nodded her head at the man. “As expected, covering up your existence has proven quite fruitless. And unless we publicly disclose your existence, one way or another, we risk the outbreak of widespread civil unrest. A choice must be made. The regiment that takes custody of you will determine your fate. The military police, or the scout regiment. Captain Novikoff, we will start with you, you have been accused of multiple acts of treason going as followed; harbouring a fugitive, assaulting eight Garrison soldiers, threatening a Garrison captain, one being Kitz Weilman, and abandoning your post. Your fate is strictly in my hands. Only two options have been placed, deeming I find you guilty or not. One, you will be released, being returned to the Survey Corps or two, execution. Do you deny these charges?”

Leena stepped forward. “I will only admit two sir, I was not harbouring a fugitive, as until the Garrison had us cornered, I was not aware of any charges that had been placed against one Eren Jaeger, nor did he. I saw him as a scared child that needed a chance to defend himself so I had planned on coming in contact with you and the Commanders of the regiments to discuss this all privately. Also, I never abandoned my post, the Captain who submitted such claims was unaware of the arrangement I have with Commander Erwin Smith. I rarely travel with the Scouts as a whole unless requested by the Commander himself. The day before the attack on Trost, I had returned from a mission outside the wall and was granted leave for the next week. My actions to go rescue the stranded Cadets was a choice I made due to the fact it was either that or watch them suffer on their own. After seeing my team fall on our mission, I wasn’t going to allow myself to do the latter.”

“So you do not deny your other charges?” the man said, raising a brow at her. 

Leena shook her head. “I see no point in lying,” She began, “sir, my only intention was to protect Mr. Jaeger in order to give him a fair trial, something Captain Kitz Weilman planned to take away from him by releasing cannon fire on myself, Eren Jaeger, and the two other Cadets. I defended them against the eight Soldiers who approached. Although I refuse to say I threatened the Captain, as he is known to have a tense demeanor, I assume he took my hostility as threatening. It is my theory that the Captain has stretched the situation in order to silence me.”

“And what reasons does he have to silence you?” he questioned, furrowing his brows. 

“He knows I’m one of the only ones not fearful enough to stay quiet,” she released, looking up at him. Confusion came to his face and she sighed, bringing her hands up to her hair and pulling the pin, letting her hair fall down around her face. “Do you know what it is like for a woman in the military?” she asked, looking up at him as she slid the hairpin into the keyhole. 

“I can’t say I do,” Zachary released, watching her unlock one of her shackles. 

“They assume you’re weak without a sword,” she said, unlocking the second shackle and letting the metal fall to the ground before pinning her hair back up. “Sorry, they were a bit heavy on my wrists,” she said, briefly rubbing her wrists before offering a hand wave and she crossed her arms. It was only a second before the Military police had guns pointed at her, the sound of their weapons cocking filling the air. “Don’t you want to hear what happened?” she asked in fake sweetness as she held her hands up in a form of surrender. 

“Lower your weapons,” Zachary grunted. “She’s in a room surrounded by trained fighters, she’s not stupid, she won’t try anything.” Leena smirked at the Military police as they were forced to follow his command. “Please, Captain Novikoff, all information to help your case will be considered.”

Leena looked up at him and began walking a little, looking around the courtroom. “To start, looking around the room, there are less than ten women in the courtroom. Less than ten. There’s a little lack of representation for you. But no, Captain Weilman’s distaste for me begins when I first got out of Trainee Corps, I forget where the first interaction actually took place, but there was drinking involved on the Captains part. He made a comment in passing about me being ‘a looker.’” As she spoke to the court, she put air quotes around his words. “Later in the night, I passed him with a group of my comrades, and he grabbed me by the wrist, ordering my friends to leave us to speak in private. They did so, and our talk consisted of him making comments about my body, ‘real long legs for such a small girl’. Saying he saw me dancing with my comrades, a sight he quite enjoyed. He tried to make an advance at me, and I quickly shut down the idea before walking away. I was sixteen,” she said, looking up at him. 

“Were there any other accounts of something like this from the captain?” Zachary asked. 

Leena raised a brow, looking up at him. “Eight, sir. Each time, I deflected the advances, each time more persistent than the last, but the last time, he was quite angry. At that point, I had yet to be recognized as a Captain. Still sixteen and finishing my first year with the Scouts.” She looked around the room, looking at the women who watched her, eyes wide, either praying they wouldn’t have to deal with something like this, or showing signs that they had already dealt with it. She sighed a little. “One little soldier,” she said, looking up at Zachary. “That’s all it took, was one calling him a coward, and he lost it. He pulled a knife on me, sir. Choked me as he lifted me from the ground. He just kept repeating if I had just complied and kept my mouth shut, it all could have been avoided.”

“And how did you respond?” Zackary said, looking at her. 

Leena smirked. “I wrapped my legs around his neck, broke his grip on me, and tore him to the ground before I disarmed him. You see, statistically speaking, those in the Survey Regiment, the average soldier holds more strength than some of the best of the other Regiments. Bring up the fact that I am a ball of unchecked rage which only heightens when a man decides to grab me by the neck. His anger moved to fear when I disarmed him and held him at knife point. All I asked him was what would stop me from reporting him.”

Leena’s eyes seemed weak for the first time the whole hearing. Zachary looked at her intently and she could feel the angered eyes from her comrades and childhood friends. “What did he say?”

“‘You’re just a soldier, it doesn’t matter what you do or say.’ He threatened to ruin me if I spoke a word. I, to this day, don’t know what he expected, me to remain quiet about the man he is, or for me to scream it from the rooftops. Me to be his little whore, or for me to die without speaking out against him. But I refuse to die without speaking my piece, or to let his action go unknown, or to allow others who felt forced to give into him feel they cannot speak up against him. He feels invincible, and hoped that with my death, the last person bitter enough to unveil it all would go too.” Her words were becoming harsh, the feelings she once had when everything happened returning and Zachary could see the anger in her. “But believe me, I’m way more bitter than he gives me credit for.”

“Do you have proof that you were not the only one?” he asked looking down at her. 

Leena looked around the room. “Take a look around, sir,” she said, gesturing to those who looked on to her declaration. “This is an exact representation of the male to female ratio in your military. The majority of your higher level captains, commanders, even officers are male. You cannot honestly sit there and believe that if it wasn’t him, it wasn’t another. Trainee Corps is formulated to make all incoming cadets compliant and non questioning of their leaders motives or prides, allowing them to hold a level of authority and enabling a level of fear to be placed upon their inferiors. Cadets are easy targets. And that’s not even including the male cadets who fall victim to such acts. Even more so unwilling to come forward due to the backlash they would receive and ridicule that would come with them not feeling they could or should defend themselves. If you refuse to acknowledge his actions and provide the correct repercussions, you are showing every other person in power that this is okay, putting the young members of your military at risk.” With this, she bore a slight smirk, knowing she just openly challenged the Premier in front of a room full of military officials. That smirk came more prominent now as she tilted her head. “But look at me, let me climb off my soap box, for my closing statement, I can confidently say, without reading the Captain’s report, that my actions have been exaggerated in hope to silence me. To him, people he finds inferior are expendable, its fine if he loses soldiers as he is able to replace them quickly. In his eyes, because I’m a woman, the military won’t be losing anything if I die, but I believe my Titan kill count tells another story.”

“And what is that count, exactly?” The head of the Military Police Commander, Nile Dok, sounded. 

Leena lazily looked at him, the smirk returning to her face, “137, as of the reclaiming of Trost. Have you ever seen a Titan?” she asked in a slightly threatening tone, tilting her head. 

Nile looked to the Premier, offering a hand gesture towards the girl. “This is the exact cause for the call for this woman’s execution sir. Despite the Captain’s foul actions, which I completely agree, should be taken care of, his claims of unpredictability are completely warranted. Her hostility on and off duty is placing those under her command at risk as well as those who oppose her, which I will use the eight Garrison soldiers, Elites, mind you, as examples. She has a history of being unpredictable and unreliable,” he released, and Leena stared at him. He looked back at her. “She is a danger to those around her, sensing fear in people and exploiting it to assert her dominance. As it stands, in the Military, those who know of her see her as some Apex Predator, but I believe she should no longer go on as being invincible.”

Leena released a laugh, surprising those in the room. “And you’re an old man with a fragile masculinity,” she said with a wide smile. 

“She no longer can act freely with the protection of the Commanders of the Survey Corps and Garrison Corps,” he said, talking over her. “It has nothing to do with my masculinity, it has everything to do with her history of aggression, standoffish personality, and the questionable mental stability following the death of her father.” 

Leena’s face morphed with rage as she began walking at the man, causing the Military Police to all point their guns at her again. This didn’t stop her though, as she stood directly in front of him, she jumped up onto the railing, perfectly balancing herself as she squatted, becoming eye level. “If you are going to speak of my father, you will use his name, Officer Ivan Novikoff. And I want you to think. If you saw the man that raised you get ripped in half by the jaws of a Titan, would you not devote your life to slaying them? Would you not maybe have a little bit of a mental instability. Once again, a prime example, believing we are weak without a sword,” she shouted. 

Those in the room all heard her at this point, her friends stiffening as they had never seen her in such a state, even when they were kids. “If I’m so dangerous, and so unpredictable, why on earth would you not order me to be staked on the ground?” she stared at him as he was backing away from her, eyes wide as he stared at her. “This one requires an answer, Commander.” he began stuttering frantically and she rolled her eyes. She stood fully, looking to Zachary as he stared at her. “Apologies, sir. I’m just tired of being ridiculed and walked all over by the children who pretend they’re men, and those children make up your Military Police.” She dropped back down to the floor as Zachary made a hand gesture, telling the men to lower their guns. “And what about him?” She asked, turning and tilting her head as she looked at Nile. “Do you even have a plan on how you are to handle it?” she pointed at Eren. “Yes, he is dangerous, I will back you up on that claim I’m sure you will present. He is dangerous, but he has the heart of a soldier and his only goal is to aid in the restoration of humanity. You call for his death but have never even seen a Titan let alone killed one! You fear what you don’t understand and it makes you a coward!” she shouted. “If you’re so scared, then go. Quit choking, and escape because you have no way to react.” She looked up at Zachary now. 

“Anything else, Captain?” he asked, raising a brow at her. 

“Yeah, I have one last thing to say,” Leena said, smirking. She raised an arm and pointed to the Military Police. “The Military Police are unequipped, inexperienced, and incapable of properly handling the fate of Eren Jaeger as they are a bunch of cowards who joined that branch of the military to sit on their asses so they never have to face a Titan. If my outburst has swayed your decision of my fate, all I ask is you reprimand Captain Kitz Weilman, work to abolish the feeling of security this Hierarchy has instilled, and be smart enough to not allow the fate of Eren Jaeger fall into the hands of such incompetent fools. I’m willing to accept whatever judgement you come to. I may be unpredictable, but I’m not a liar,” she bore no smile now, instead she turned, moving to Eren’s side as he looked up at her. Even in a time to defend herself, she tried to protect him by publicly questioning the competence of the Military Police. “I will protect you, even if its not for much longer,” she whispered, looking down at him and his eyes were wide. 

“Thank you for that testimony and offering eye opening information, Captain,” he said with a nod. She nodded in return, staring at the wood directly under him. “Now, for the course of Eren Jaeger.”


	5. The Decision

Throughout the debate, Leena remained still and emotionless, despite how badly she wanted to shout at the arguing men. Levi began beating the titan shifter in front of the court following Eren’s outbreak, once again calling the Military Police cowards. It took all of her to not attack him in that moment as well, but she knew his intentions were to show authority over the boy. It seemed she was the only one remaining calm through it. Once he finished, he declared Eren should fall into his control and watch, as he was one of the only people who could possibly take care of him. In his declaration, he included that having Leena there to aid would add a secondary level of security on the situation. 

As Leena stood there, she heard Zachary sound. “I have made my decisions. For the case of one Eren Jaeger, he will be entrusted in the hands of the Survey Regiment. The terms of this placement will be that he is under constant supervision by one Levi Ackerman. If he is unable to hold control of his Titan form, you are to exterminate him promptly.”

Levi bowed his head from the other side of Eren, making Leena release a sigh of relief. “Thank you, sir,” Levi said, nodding his head. 

“And as for Captain Leena Novikoff,” he said looking at the girl. “I will fulfil your request, beginning an investigation into all regiments for acts against soldiers done unto them by people in a position of power, and I have placed Eren Jaeger into the hands of the Scouts.”

Leena nodded her head once. “Thank you, Sir.”

Zachary bowed his head slightly. “However, I am unable to ignore the claims placed upon you as a danger to those around you. You have proven those to be true today in court with complete disregard for your own life, even at gunpoint. I am ordering for the immediate execution of one Leena Novikoff.”

There was a sound of protest sounding through the left side of the room, those in the Scout Corps and Garrison regiments trying to fight his verdict, but Leena simply bowed her head in understanding. 

“Sir, you can’t do this!” Eren screamed. 

“She has devoted her life to the cause of Humanity!” Armin shouted above the rest. 

“Sir!” Erwin sounded, making Leena look over to him. “If I may speak on her behalf!” he bellowed over the shouting soldiers; hearing his voice made them quiet themselves. Zachary looked at him boredly and raised a brow, but bowed his head, telling him to come forward. As he vaulted over the railing, Commander Pixis made his way from his spot as well. “I have remained silent in her defence per her request, but I cannot simply sit back now. Sir, Captain Leena Novikoff is one of the most devoted people I’m aware of. Her sense of duty and heart to our cause soars beyond the majority and every day in the field she proves herself as a trustworthy and reliable comrade. My life has been saved many times by her hands and I’m sure all of the cadets involved in the Trost incident will say the same.”

“Yes, she is a rambunctious girl,” Pixis said, looking at the man. “But I refuse to even consider her as a threat to humanity. She is hot-headed and holds respect for few people, but it is well known that she is not as invincible as Commander Nile claims. Hell! During her defense testimony, she unrailed the hearing to focus on not only the safety of all young women, and even men, sharing her horrendous story and spreading the awareness of such things happening in a military setting. She also put forward the probability of the MPs being unable to actually handle Eren Jaeger’s fate. Even in a time to defend herself, she defended those who can’t speak for themselves and a person that has not only a right to his life, but a purpose in it, for the betterment of humanity.”

“Sir, if you execute her, mankind will be losing one of its most essential defenders,” Erwin said, making Zachary sit back in his seat a little. “I recruited her myself and was the overseer of her training and she has worked under me for all of her time in the military. I am one of the only people capable of speaking on her character. She is not some insane murder and she would never cause serious injury or death to her fellow man. The only accounts they have against her in such terms has been acts of self defence or while defending her comrades.”

“As I said before sir,” Nile sounded. “The two Commanders will stop at nothing to defend this woman, as they always have.”

Zachary sighed and looked down at the papers in front of him. As he looked up, he looked at the three men standing in front of him and his eyes landed on the Captain. “Captain Levi, you have been rather silent towards the case of this woman. However, you must have had contact with her as she is also a Captain. What are your feelings on the subject?”

Levi furrowed his brows. “My feelings, sir?” he asked, making the man nod. He sighed and began walking to his commander, looking up at him. “She’s disrespectful, hard headed, loud, easily agitated, and unpredictable. But do I think she is a danger to mankind? Absolutely not,” he said loudly, making Leena’s eyes go wide. “Does she have the potential to be? Absolutely, but behind the rough exterior, she holds too much compassion for her fellow man to ever do anything they claim she’s capable of. She simply isn’t. She is a sheep in wolf’s clothing, one could say. She looks and acts like she could end the life of everyone in this room, but her morals are correctly aligned and she cares far too much about people to actually kill anyone, or commit acts of treason that would slow the progression of mankind. She isn’t some ‘Apex Predator’, as Commander Nile put it. Everyone knows that she is a little twisted, but she has a love for humanity that no one can take away. I have the utmost respect for this woman, and hold an admiration for her abilities as a Captain, but more so for her ability to continuously have a nurturing demeanor to those who work under her. Unfortunately, she lost her team, so there are not many who have seen the bond they had together, but I did. I was able to see it all. She may be but one little soldier, but she is a little soldier we cannot afford to lose right now.”

Leena stared at him in disbelief, not even knowing he had witnessed her relationship with her team, or that he held her in such high regards. She couldn’t see how it was a lie due to how quickly and sincerely he was able to answer. It seemed so out of character to her to see him actually defend her. “So,” Zachary said, looking at the man who stood in front of him with a deadpan expression. “What would you have me do?” he asked. Leena’s heart began to race, realizing that it wasn’t the commanders that were about to save her life. Instead, it was a Captain she believed had a distaste for her.

“It seems she has the same problem that Eren has in regards to understanding who she is meant to be as a Captain and she has forgotten the respect she should be showing those around her,” he said, standing fully and not looking at Leena. “I would allow her to live,” he said simply. “As Commander Erwin stated, she is too valuable to humanity to allow death to take her. Rather, I propose the same terms for her as they are for Jaeger. Do not strip her of her rank as Captain, instead, I would take responsibility for her. I propose that she is formally introduced into my squad and works under me as an assistant Captain. I willingly offer this and will be there to get her to a respectful and worthy place of Captain. Then and only then, should she be allowed to lead a squad on her own again.” Levi turned and began walking at Leena, grabbing her by the elbow and began to pull her right in front of the Premier. “I saved her life not four days ago, I’d rather not let those efforts go to waste, sir.”

Zachary saw the fearful expression on Leena’s face, taking it as she was scared of him, not realizing it was a face of disbelief. “And she would listen to you?”

“What choice would she have?” Levi said, not looking at the woman in his grip. “She will be useful in the reclaiming of Wall Maria as well as the control of Jaeger. And I have no doubt I’d be able to knock some sense into her.”

Zachary sighed and nodded. “So be it,” he said, making Leena’s head jerk in his direction, disbelief covering her face. “Captain Leena Novikoff is acquitted. She is to return to the Scouts with the understanding she will be under surveillance by Captain Levi Ackerman and is to comply with any and all commands made by the Captain until he sees her fit to return to her original position as a Captain. This hearing is dismissed.” As he began standing, he lifted his coat and nodded to Leena specifically. 

“Go and take Leena and Eren to a private room,” Levi whispered immediately to Erwin. “The MPs are going to retaliate and if we don’t get them out now it will be too late.” 

Leena nodded and ran to Eren, moving around the back of him as the Military Police sounded in an uproar. Erwin was at her side in a second and the two lifted the bar holding Eren down. Leena helped him to his feet and Erwin grabbed them both, quickly making for the door as Levi stayed, defending their decision. When it was thrown open, Hange Zoe was waiting out there for them, demanding they followed their lead. The group of four began jogging through the halls, Eren’s hands still cuffed. It didn’t long for Hange to push a door open and herd the three in. Leena quickly pulled out her hair pin and began undoing Eren’s cuffs. He turned quickly and wrapped his arms around her waist, letting her wrap her arms around his neck. He lifted her off the ground, hugging her tightly as she began petting the back of his head. “Oh my god,” she released, gasping for air in a mini panic attack. 

“You are lucky!” Erwin exclaimed, pointing at her as Eren set her down. She turned quickly to the Commander, her eyes wide. “So damn lucky Levi defended you,” he released, shaking his head and she nodded, moving to him quickly and wrapping her arms around his neck and he lifted her, hugging her tightly to him. 

“Did you know he was going to?” Leena asked, not releasing him. 

“No,” he exclaimed. He set her down and cupped her face between his hands. “I had no clue what he was going to say.” 

“A-am I even allowed to hug him? Like will he shoot me?” she asked frantically. “How do I even thank him?” 

“You can try?” Erwin said, eyes wide. “I don’t know, I don’t think anyone has ever tried to. Try when you’re alone, maybe?” she nodded her head and sighed in relief. 

In this time, Hange had given Eren a blanket and made him sit. Leena turned when Erwin released her and she sat beside Eren, holding his hand as Hange began looking over him. Erwin made his way to the window, looking out. The door opened and Leena looked over, seeing Levi and a squad leader by the name of Mike Zacharias come in and quickly shutting the door. Levi moved, standing across from the couch and leaning against the wall while Mike moved to the window. Hange began cleaning up Eren’s wounds and Leena let him squeeze her hand whenever he was in pain but she wasn’t looking away from Levi. 

“That went way better than I expected,” Hange said, sending a smile at Leena. “Does it hurt?” Hange asked, looking at his face as Leena placed a cold cloth on the boy’s face. 

“Yeah,” he released. 

“Yeah?” they asked in excitement. “Describe it to me!”

Eren released a noise in confusion and Erwin nodded his head a little, beginning to walk towards the couch. “Sorry for all that,” he said, nodding at him. “But the theatrics did get you placed in our custody. Leena’s included, despite it almost sealing her own fate.”

“No,” Eren said, shaking his head and looking up at the man. “I understand.”

Hange began to stand as Erwin stood beside them, looking down at the boy. “I can assure you the pain was worth it,” the Commander said, nodding his head. “We played our trump card at the perfect time.” He offered a small smile as he squatted in front of the boy and offering him a hand. “You have my utmost respect. Eren, I’m glad that you’re on our team.”

Leena smiled and brought her hand away as Eren released a noise of surprise, grabbing Erwin’s hand. “Me, too! Glad to be here, sir!”

As Levi made his way over, Leena went wide eyed, scooting closer to the startled Eren as the man slammed himself down on the couch, sandwiching her between them. “So, Eren,” he sounded. He crossed his legs and eyed the two beside him. “You don’t resent me now, do you?” he asked. 

Eren released Leena’s hand and she went to move out of the way, but the feeling of Levi’s hand gently holding the back of her neck made her freeze. He was silently telling her not to get up on his account and she recognized it. “N--no. I can see that what you did was necessary, sir,” Eren said, slightly more scared as he peeked at Leena’s stiffness under his touch. 

“Good, I’m glad you understand,” Levi said, removing his hand from Leena and looking from the two. 

Hange eyed him. “Still, don’t you think you went too far?” they asked, raising a brow at him. “I mean, you knocked his tooth out!” they held their hand out, holding a handkerchief and unfolded it, showing the bloody tooth. “Neat, huh?” they asked in excitement. 

“You picked it up?” Levi asked in a rotten tone. “How disgusting.” Leena was sitting up straight, stiff as she felt his arm across her bare shoulders. “Relax,” he muttered to her. 

“This is a precious sample I’ll have you know!” Hange said, lowering themself in front of Eren. 

Levi gave them a bored look. “Hey, just be glad people like that aren’t dissecting you,” he released, resting his free arm across his crossed legs. 

Hange gave him a look. “Don’t you dare to compare me with them.”

Leena looked at Eren, seeing a terrified look on his face and she grasped his forearm, making him look at her and finding comfort. “Come on, you two. Don’t freak him out more than he already is,” she said, slyly scooting away from Levi’s arm. 

“I would never dream of killing him!” Hange defended, looking at Leena and Levi before turning to Eren in excitement. “Hey, Eren. Let me take a look inside that mouth of yours!”

Leena chuckled and released the boy, going to lean back against the couch but jerked back up right as she connected with the man’s arm, making her look at him. “Sorry,” Leena muttered quickly. 

The most subtle of smirks came to his mouth. “It’s fine,” he muttered.

The sound of Eren saying ‘Ah’ made her turn her head back to him, seeing Hange staring into his mouth, smiling. Their face turned to shock as they stared. “Your tooth,” they breathed out in disbelief. “It grew back. How amazing!”

Levi rolled his eyes, looking to Erwin. “What are we going to do about a base for the Special Operations Squad?” he asked, making the Commander look at him. “These two could cause panic if we remain in any major city.”

Erwin nodded his head in agreement. “You aren’t wrong,” he said, bringing his hand up to touch his chin. “You could use the Old Scout Regiment Headquarters, to the north west. It’s been abandoned for a while though,” he said, nodding to Levi. 

Levi nodded his head. “That’s fine,” he said. “Mike, If you would, assemble my squad, we leave in an hour. We need to leave this city as quickly as possible. The rest, I need to speak with Leena alone.” Leena stared forward, wide eyed and panicking as Erwin nodded and lifted a hand to direct the others out. Leena looked at them all with pleading eyes as they left, Eren taking a look at his friend before Erwin closed the door. She slowly scooted from the man beside her. “You had it handled?” he asked, sarcasm in his voice. 

She took a deep breath and looked at him with false confidence. “You know, it's illegal to lie in court,” she offered. 

“I didn’t tell a single lie,” Levi said, raising a brow at her. “So, care to tell me why you pretty much gave yourself up for slaughter?”

Leena released some air. “I knew I wasn’t making it out of there alive, or thought I wasn’t… I figured, if that was going to be my end, I might as well put it to good use. I knew they would use the Commander’s past efforts against me, so I didn’t want Erwin to waste his breath. I didn’t account for you stepping in.” she slowly looked up at him and saw his expression. “What?” she asked, furrowing her brows. 

“Leena, like I said, I didn’t lie, did you honestly expect me to not defend you?” he asked, leaning towards her a little. 

“I didn’t know your views on me,” she said softly. “How was I meant to? We haven’t ever worked closely together. I only know of your reputation as a Captain.”

“Well, now we are going to be working together,” he sighed, looking away from her. 

“You’re going to hold me to that?” she asked, making a face of disapproval. 

“I’m not risking contempt of court, and you do have a respect issue, and need to be straightened out before you should be allowed to guide others on your own,” he said, his eyes meeting her again. He read her expression and smirked a little. “Be glad you aren’t dead,” he said, moving to stand but his entire body locked as she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and moving to sit on her knees, leaning over him. His eyes were wide as she held him. “W-wha-”

“Relax,” she said with a small chuckle. “Thank you, Levi,” she whispered. He was hesitant in his movements but he gently placed his already extended arm on her back, holding her side as he half hugged her in return. They stayed that way for a few seconds and she pulled away, sitting on her legs. “What do we do now?” she asked, looking at him. 

Levi stood, still stiff from the previous minute. “Well, we need to get ready for our journey. I assume your home is by the gate to Trost?” he asked, looking back at her over his shoulder. She shook her head and he sighed. “Where do you live?” he asked.

“I stay on base, usually,” she said and pulled herself from the couch to stand, looking at him slightly. “I need to get my dog,” she said.

“Dog?” he asked, furrowing his brows. 

She nodded her head. “When I go on missions a family near the base watches him.” 

Levi sighed and nodded his head. “Fine, I’ll send Petra with you. Meet us at the North-West side of the city. Understand?”

“Understood.”


	6. Odd Times

Leena rode directly behind Levi, her green cloak stuck safely beside her and she looked off to the side, releasing a peculiar whistle, not seeing the dog as close as she’d like. There was a little bark before she saw the dog emerge from the woods and begin to trot beside her horse. “Good boy, Link,” she said with a small smile. He was a mutt, looking like a wolf as he ran with her through the woods. 

“We’re getting close,” Levi sounded, making Leena nod her head. 

Up ahead, she saw a castle like structure come into view and she heard a male voice sound from behind her. “An architectural marvel, don’t you agree?” she couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not so she simply remained silent, admiring the stone building ahead of her. “A proper royal residence once upon a time: and more recently, our former headquarters.” Leena turned her head forward, seeing Oluo Bozado was the one speaking, and she looked back to the castle, tilting her head a little. “Fancy, yes. But absurdly impractical once the Scouts got down to business. Much much too far removed from either river or wall. This was the early days for us, you understand. Hopes soared high. Now this opulent bauble is little more than a holding cell. The place where we store our newest toy.” Leena watched the man lean closer to him. “Do not be deceived greenhorn,” he said, making Eren look at him confused. 

She couldn’t hear what he said, but she knew he was trying to intimidate him. She grumbled a little. “Bozado, put some distance between you and Eren before I come back there,” she said in a warning tone, making him sit up straight, biting his tongue and releasing a screech of pain. Leena smirked and they came to the stables, allowing her to hop off her horse. As she tied it up, she looked to Levi. “Will there be enough rooms for all of us?” she asked, watching him hop off his horse and make a gesture to follow him. She moved to him, petting Link on the head as she passed and walked at his side. 

As they neared the door, they saw two of Levi’s men looking at the door. “Bet the inside is in shambles,” one of them released. 

“In which case we have a problem, don’t we?” Levi said, making the two turn. “Best grab a broom and get to work,” he released. The two nodded and left them to go inside. “Not bringing anything in yet?” he asked, looking down at her. 

“Without cleaning this place first?” she asked, making a face. “No point in putting clean clothes in a dirty place,” she said, shaking her head. “We have to figure out sleeping arrangements too.”

“Eren is in the basement,” he said simply, starting to walk towards the door, making her follow. She remained silent and he raised a brow and looked down at her. “No fight?” he asked. 

Leena shrugged and began pulling off her jacket, looking around, eyes landing on a coat rack. She hung it up and looked at him. “Not my call, and its not a bad idea since he doesn’t have control yet,” she said. “Let’s take a look around the main building, if needed I can sleep out in one of the exterior buildings.”

“Not your call,” he said in a bored tone, removing his cloak. “I said I’d keep you under constant supervision, you’re in the room next to mine and if there isn’t enough for everyone else, we’ll have to share,” he said in a bored tone, hanging up his cloak and jacket.

“W-wha-”

“Don’t argue with me,” he said, cutting her off. He began walking through the castle, Leena on his tail. By the end of the search, it seemed as though they would in fact be sharing, Levi claiming the largest room so they would be able to have room without stepping on each other. As they returned to the master bedroom, he began examining its state of cleanliness. “It’s disgusting but it will do once we clean it up.”

Leena looked around and went wide eyed. “There’s only one bed,” she muttered. 

“Not a problem, I rarely sleep in a bed, you can have it,” he said, waving off the idea. Leena nodded, trying to be as respectful as possible to the man. “It’s going to take some time to get this place up to par,” he muttered. 

“I’ll clean in here and the hall, you can go if you want,” she said, nodding her head. 

He nodded his head. “I’ll come inspect your work later,” he released before turning and walking out. 

Leena sighed and went to the door, walking through the halls and exiting the building. As she moved to her horse, she opened her clothing pack, pulling out a loose white top, white a floor length skirt, and a pair of canvas shoes. She grabbed a brown leather belt as well and began moving inside, heading back to what would be the Captains’ room. She quickly shut the door and changed, leaving her dirty uniform on the bed as she tucked the short sleeved off the shoulder top into the skirt and put on her canvas shoes and belt. She bent down, grabbing the side of the skirt and put a knot in it, making it come up to her knee on one side to keep it out the way while she worked. 

She quickly began making her way through the halls, searching closets for a laundry basket or something similar, finding one and returning. She removed the sheets and made her way outside, seeing a water pump and a large metal bucket, clearly where the royal servant used to do laundry. It didn’t take her long to wash all the sheets and her soiled uniform, so she tied a rope to two trees and hung them to dry as she walked back inside. 

“Leena?” someone asked, making Leena turn. Eren was walking to her with a handkerchief around his neck and on top of his head. “When did you change?” he asked, looking down at her body. 

“I needed to wash my bed sheets so I washed the uniform too,” she said, nodding and crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Well, Levi asked me to bring you these before I cleaned the upstairs,” he said, handing her two white pieces of fabric. “So you aren’t breathing in the dirt and shit.”

Leena chuckled at her friend’s words. “Did he actually say and shit?” she asked.

Eren smirked a little. “I may have improvised,” he said, nodding his head. Leena chuckled and folded one of the pieces of fabric into a triangle, placing it on top of her head and bringing it under her hair, tying it at the nap of her neck. “I’m glad you’re here, Leena,” Eren said, making her look up at him with furrowed brows. “Not just like alive, but here with me… It’s nice knowing I have a friend through all of this madness.”

Leena smiled and brought a hand up, cupping his cheek. “You’ll always have a friend when I’m around, Eren. Now, get up there and start cleaning before Levi murders both of us.”

He released a little laugh and nodded. “He’s terrifying,” he said, nodding, making her release a laugh in agreement, dropping her hand from his face. “Where are you staying?” he asked as they began walking through the halls together.

Leena laughed as she tied the second piece of fabric over the nose and pulled down below her chin. “With Levi in the master bedroom,” she released. 

“Yikes,” he said, making a sympathetic face. “Good luck with that,” he said, nodding his head. 

“Bought to go clean in there,” she said, nodding her head. 

Eren smirked. “Aw, the little house wife at work,” he said sarcastically. 

Leena released a laugh. “Shut the fuck up,” she laughed out, stopping outside the supply closet. “Go clean, you ass,” she said, smiling and pushing the door open. He offered a wave and she disappeared into the closet, grabbing a bucket, a scrub brush and a few wash clothes. She had gotten soapy water and scrubbed the room from top to bottom for about two hours, under the tables, the floors, the bed frame, and even opened the windows. At one point she had dragged the mattress outside and was beating it with the handle of a broom to get all the dust out of it. The insides of the two wardrobes were cleaned and scrubbed. At this point, the room was sparkling. She moved to the open windows and looked outside, seeing Link chasing butterflies in the courtyard, making her smile. 

Levi quietly walked in, seeing Leena leaning over with her forearms resting on the window sill, the light around her like some sort of deity. “Had time to change?” he sounded, making her jump and turn. She released a laugh and placed her hand on her beating heart. “Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame. 

She leaned back, placing her hands behind her and rested her butt against the lower wall. “It’s alright, you are just really quiet. I was washing the bed sheets so I figured I'd wash my uniform while I was at it.” he nodded his head and understanding, running his hands across things looking for dust. 

He looked around for a good five minutes and nodded his head. “You can tell it’s clean because the air isn’t so dense,” he released. “Nice work,” he said. 

“Thanks,” she said with a little nod. She pushed herself off the window sill and began walking. “I have to go grab the sheets and stuff… I can put your things away?” she offered, looking at him. 

“Sure,” he said, tightening his jaw. He looked at the wardrobes and lazily pointed at one. “Just, put them in there, if you wouldn’t mind, hang my two black suits.”

Leena nodded. “Not a problem,” she breathed out. She turned and quickly exited the room, trying to hide how awkward she felt. He watched her go and sighed a little, walking out and moving to the room over. 

She was outside now after bringing her bags inside and was standing beside Levi’s horse, awkwardly trying to get his bag off. “Need some help?” a voice said from behind her. She looked over her shoulder, seeing Eld Jinn looking down at her. 

“If you wouldn’t mind,” she said, nodding her head.

He nodded and pulled down the three bags, lifting two off the ground as she grabbed the last one. He eyed her as they began walking back inside, her holding the bag with two hands in front of her body. “Never seen you out of the Uniform,” he said, making her look up at him with a confused expression. “You look nice,” he said, nodding. 

“Oh.. um thank you,” she said, a little surprised.

He kept his gaze ahead of them as they moved, nodding a response. As they walked in he set down the bags but noticed the others on the bed. He furrowed his brows. “Are you two sharing the room?” he asked, looking down at her. 

“Oh, yeah, court ordered being under constant supervision,” she explained, looking at her bags while making her way to Levi’s wardrobe. “He’s taking it very seriously, I guess.”

“Well, good luck,” Eld said, letting out a little laugh and crossing his arms. She gave him a questioning look and he shrugged. “The Captain doesn’t sleep much, bit of an insomniac. You’d be amazed how often I find him sleeping in a chair with his work scattered in front of him.”

“Ah,” Leena said in understanding. “I’m sure it will be fine,” she said, setting down the bag she was holding, opening it. 

“He clean in here?” he asked, looking around. 

Leena shook her head and opened one of the drawers, carefully placing his white shirts in. “Nope, I did. Why?”

“It’s spotless,” he said, a little surprised. “He’s a bit of a clean freak,” he said with a nod. 

“Well, I am too,” she said, nodding. “Can’t stand a messy home or office.”

He nodded and smirked a little. “May I speak frankly?” he asked, making her look at him confused. “You’re a lot more approachable than I expected.”

Leena released a little laugh. “How so?” she asked, smiling. 

“I don’t know, whenever we went in the field together and even around the base, you always held this angry face and pissed off demeanor. Then when I heard what they had said in the courtroom yesterday… I kind of just assumed you were a lot like the Captain,” he said, shrugging his shoulders a little and looking around. 

Leena nodded her head in understanding. “May I speak frankly?” she asked, raising a brow and he released a little laugh. “I’m trying to behave myself. The sooner I get on Levi’s good graces, the sooner I can get out of here. I have to think about assembling a new squad and… that’s hard to do when people are scared of you. And, if I am speaking honestly, I’m quite grateful right now, Levi saved my life, twice actually, in the past week. Saved one of my best friends as well, so the least I can do is try and be at least pleasant to you all. I know your orders are to protect Eren, and that’s what I’m trying to do as well.”

Eld tilted his head as he looked at her. “Why did you take that so well?” he asked, shaking his head a little. 

Leena finished putting that bag of clothes in as she looked up at him. “I’m used to people seeing the worst in me,” she said, setting the bag to the side of his wardrobe and grabbing the second one. 

“Eld, why are you not cleaning,” a voice said from behind him, making him jump. 

Eld turned quickly, seeing Levi standing behind him. “Sorry Captain,” he said, nodding his head. 

Leena watched him quickly leave and she looked back at the bag, opening it and starting to hang up his suits. “I’ll tell them to leave you alone if you'd like,” he released, walking into the room with a handful of candles. 

“No, it’s alright,” she said, shaking her head. She hung up his last jacket as they worked in silence. “It’s nice, if I’m being honest,” she said, setting down the bag with the other empty one and moving to grab his final one. 

He had set the candles down and made his way to the bed, removing her bags from it and starting to put the sheets on. “Nice?” he questioned, not looking at her. 

She shrugged a little as she began putting his more casual clothes away. “Yeah, someone besides Eren who wants to hold conversation… rather isn’t scared to.”

“They wouldn’t be so scared if you showed more of your good side, you know.”

She furrowed her brows and looked at him. “My good side?” she asked, laying down a pair of pants. 

She didn’t see Levi roll his eyes as he tucked a sheet under the mattress. “Good side, that only your squad mates and friends see? We may not be close but I’ve seen you interact with them, you know.” she released a sigh and he looked over his shoulder at her. “Why exactly do you hide it?”

Leena stood up as she lifted his bag, bringing it to the other two and sat them down. “If everyone sees it, a reputation builds and people set their own standards. How am I supposed to be happy and kind towards everyone I meet?” she asked, moving to him and lifting her bag from the ground. “This way, people don’t have a high opinion anyway, you don’t have to worry about letting anyone down,” she said softly before she began walking to her wardrobe, opening it and beginning to put her skirts and off the shoulder tops in the lowest drawer. 

Levi eyed her for a second. “Do you always wear off the shoulder blouses and skirts?” he asked. 

“Sometimes I wear leather pants,” she said, making a face at the random question. “You, Levi, you don’t have to force yourself to have a conversation with me, I unders-”

“Who said I’m forcing myself to do anything?” he asked, cutting her off and putting the last sheet on. He stood and turned, heading towards the table of candles, grabbing a few and using his gear to go up to the ceiling and place them. “We’ve known each other for what, four years? And barely know anything about the other.”

“Well, what do you want to know then?” Leena asked, emptying the first bag and, bringing it to the bed, sliding it under it. She picked up another that contained her uniforms and brought them to the wardrobe, starting to put them away. “My favorite color?”

He rolled his eyes and placed the last candle, lowering himself to the ground. “Sure,” he said, moving back to the table of candles. 

“Green,” she said. She refolded a pair of pants and looked at him. “What’s yours?”

“Also green,” he said, not looking at her as he put a candle on its holder on the table. Levi began muttering to himself about the candles being trash and looked at Leena, seeing a deadpan expression on her face as she looked at her shirt and furrowed his brows. “Leena?” he asked, but she didn’t even move. “Leena!” he called, and she didn’t respond again. He furrowed his brows and began walking towards her, looking down at her a little as he reached her. “Leena.” when she didn’t respond once again, he placed a hand on her lower back and she jumped.

She looked up at him with wide eyes and began to blush, looking down and folding the shirt. “Sorry,” she muttered. 

“What was that?” he asked, furrowing his brows. 

“I got lost in thought,” she said, shaking her head a little. 

He shook his head a little. “What were you thinking about that put you into a full damn trance?”

She blushed again. “I was thinking about the level of difficulty doing a handstand on Erwin’s hands would be,” she muttered. 

“What?” he questioned, complete confusion on his face. 

She put the shirt in the drawer and turned to him, raising her hands above her head. “Like, him standing like this, and my palms are on his and I’m doing a handstand.”

His jaw dropped a little and he looked down for a second. “H-how did you come to this thought? And how would you get up there?”

“That’s what I was thinking about,” she egged on. “Like, would I have to like climb up him and like stand on his shoulders first? I wouldn’t want to use the ODM gear, cause that’s cheating.” she sat there thinking for a moment and grumbled, opening a drawer and pulling out a pair of leather pants, putting her legs through and pulling them up under her skirt before pulling off her belt and taking off the skirt, setting them down on the ground next to her wardrobe. 

“What are you doing?” he asked as she started heading for the door. 

“I have to know,” she said. He started following her as she made her way through the main building, looking in rooms as she went. “Where the hell is he?” she asked aloud. 

“Erwin isn’t here,” Levi released.

“I’m aware,” she said over her shoulder. “I’m looking for Eren.” as she peered into what would have been the Royals’ Entertaining room, she saw all the members of Levi’s squad cleaning, Eren dusting. “Eren!” she shouted, making him jump and look at her. “What is the likelihood you’d be able to have complete body control while holding all my weight above your head?” she asked, walking into the room, Levi right behind her. 

“W-what?” the boy asked, brows furrowed. 

“She completely spaced out and is now determined to know how difficult it would be to do this,” Levi breathed out, shaking his head in disbelief. 

Eren nodded in understanding. “She used to do this shit all the time,” he said to the captain. 

“Answer the question,” Leena persisted, moving towards the boy. “Do you think you can do it?” she asked. 

Eren shook his head with a little laugh. “Honestly, probably not, I have a difficult time with the ODM gear and that requires full boy control, so I could probably get you up there but I wouldn’t be stable enough to hold you steady.”

“Shit,” she released, looking around. “Any of you?” she asked, looking at the squad in front of her. 

Eld shook his head a little. “Honestly, the best bet would be the Captain, he’s the strongest of us.” As he spoke, he pointed to the man behind her and she spun around. “I don’t know if he’d do it though.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, raising her brows at him. “Erwin isn’t here to fall victim to this, so its on you.”

“Absolutely not,” Levi said, shaking his head. 

Leena shook her head. “I’m sorry, you don’t have a choice.”

Eren looked at the Captain, making a face. “She is going to be incredibly persistent and annoying until she finds her answer,” he warned. 

“It’s true,” Leena said, nodding her head in agreement. “I refuse to give up once this shit happens.”

Levi looked at Eren. “How annoying?” he asked, weighing the different outcomes. 

“She went two weeks not speaking to me and frequently jumped me to try and get me to hold her hand so she could try and do a flip. Didn’t stop until I gave in,” Eren released in a defeated tone. 

Levi looked at him in disbelief. “Two weeks?” he asked, furrowing his brows. 

“Two weeks, and he was the one that caved, not me,” Leena answered, not removing her eyes from the man.

Levi clenched his jaw. “You’ll drop it once we do it, right?” he asked, looking at her. She nodded her head quickly and he shook his head a little. “Fine,” he spat. “We are doing it outside. That way if you fall, you won’t get blood on the floors.”

“Yes!” Leena exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. She moved by him, grabbing his arm as she went and began pulling him through the structure. Levi was amazed by her childishness in this moment, but couldn’t deny the sight of her so excited brought the smallest smile to his face. As the two made it outside, they moved out into the grass, Leena releasing Levi to pet Link who came running to her the second she made it out the door. 

“How are we going to do this?” Levi asked, pulling his mask off and removing the cloth from his hair, tossing them to the side. 

Leena stood fully, giving Link a final pet before she returned to him. “Well first, we should see if your arms can actually hold me,” she released, looking at him. 

“They can,” he said boredly. 

She put her hands up in defence. “Just to make sure,” she insisted. “Lay down,” she said. 

“In the dirt?” he said, leaning his head forward a little. Leena nodded her head as the five soldiers came outside, the sun on the verge of setting, wine bottles in their hands. “You’re cleaning my clothes,” he muttered. 

“Worth it,” she said, nodding her head. 

“Want a drink first, Captain?” Oluo called. “We found the wine cellar earlier.”

“Yes, actually,” Levi said with a nod, looking at him and holding his hand out. Oluo came over, ripping the cork out of the bottle as he walked and handed it to the man, letting him take a few large gulps. “Here,” he said, thrusting it to Leena. She took it and repeated his actions before making a face and offering it back to Oluo with a nod of thanks. Levi lowered himself down, laying on his back with his knees up. Leena moved to his side and lifted a leg over him. “What do I do?” he asked, looking up at her as she stood over him. She held her hands down to him and he brought his up, letting her grab him and lace their fingers together. “Can someone come spot her so she doesn’t eat shit?” he said, making her snicker. Eld got up, took a swig and moved to the Captain’s head. Leena brought her legs up, placing her feet on his knees and pulling her weight to her hands. 

“Ready?” she asked, looking down at his face. He just nodded. In a smooth movement, she pushed herself forward a bit and bent at the hip to let herself steady before slowly moving her legs straight up. “You good?” she asked, checking in on him. 

“Yeah, are you?” he asked, looking at her face of concentration. 

“Yeah,” she said. “Let’s hold it for like 30 seconds,” she said, looking at him as he nodded. “Jesus, you aren’t even breaking a sweat!” she released, grunting a little. 

“Is she straight?” Levi called. 

Petra let out a laugh. “Like a pin!” she shouted. “Point the toes, Leena!”

Leena released a laugh and did so. “I should have stretched first,” she breathed out, looking down at Levi who was laying there emotionless. “Think we can do it?” she asked. He nodded his head and she released a laugh, bending at the hip again and landing with her legs on either side of him again. She released his hands and moved from over him. “That is the most we have ever held eye contact,” she said with a laugh. Levi pulled himself off the ground, and looked at her as she turned to him. “So, could you like, kneel and be able to push me up?” she asked, looking at him. 

“That would be a lot of movement to hold the handstand on,” he said, shaking his head a little. She groaned a little, knowing he was right. 

“I’m going to have to like jump on you and climb up,” she said, breathing a little heavy. He sighed and nodded his head. Those sitting at the door simultaneously got up, moving to spot them. She moved to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Just grab my thighs and try to hold as still as possible,” she said to him and he nodded. She hopped up, her thighs connecting with his ribs and he held her still for a moment as she tried to maneuver her leg up, placing her knee on his shoulder. He grabbed her waist as she brought her foot up, placing it on his other shoulder. “Not working,” she said in a voice of fear, Levi feeling her get very wobbly. “Shit!” she shouted as her hips went back. Eren was behind her and immediately opened his arms as she fell back onto him, butt to chest, Levi pretty much tossing her, and he fell backwards. “Dammit,” she muttered, sitting on Eren’s chest. Gunther leaned forward, offering her a hand and pulled her up. “Thanks,” she said nodding to him. “Any ideas?” she asked, looking at Levi again.

“What if you stepped into my hands and I hoist you onto my shoulders?” he asked, and she shrugged. “Worth a try.”

“Worth a try,” she agreed. 

He laced his fingers together and squatted down a little, letting her put her hands on his shoulders and put her left foot into his hands. “1...2...3,” he said and he lifted her off the ground as she jumped, putting her right food on his shoulder. “Alright, hold steady, I’m going to stand,” he said, looking up at her and she nodded. The soldiers surrounded them and had their hands up in case she started falling again. “Alright, push up with your right leg, I’ll guide your foot to my shoulder.” 

“Okay,” she said nodding her head. She did as she was told, arms out to keep her balanced and he was now gripping her calves. “Bring your hands up,” she said, bending down a bit with her arms down. He quickly grasped her hands as she bent her knees a bit. “Is this too ambitious?” she asked, looking down at him. 

“I’m too damn determined now,” he released, his face holding no joy. “Jump up and do it like you did while I was laying down,” he said, looking up at her face. She nodded and bent her elbows again, knowing she would be able to push herself up once her feet were off him. 

She bounced a bit and bent her hips, her legs spread wide as she put all her weight to his hands. She grunted as she pushed herself up, locking her elbows. She released a few breaths and forced her legs to go up. “Oh my god,” she released, smiling widely. 

“Did we do it?” Levi asked, not looking away from her face. 

“Yes!” Petra shouted with a laugh, looking up at the woman doing a perfectly straight handstand on her captain’s hands. “Holy shit!” she exclaimed with a smile. 

“How do we get you down?” Levi asked seriously. 

“Oh shit,” Leena said, dropping her smile. 

“Dammit, you idiot,” he released. Leena watched him rack his brain. “I’m going to throw you,” he said, his feet moving under him a little. 

“What?” she practically screamed, her breathing growing heavy as she tightened on his hands, squeezing his fingers as she tried to stabilize herself. 

“Ow,” he released. She made an apologetic face as they stared at each other. “Just, fucking trust me, alright? Relax.” She grunted but nodded her head. “Keep the circle just in case,” he sounded and his squad sounded. He staggered his feet a little bit and lunged down. “When I push up, let go and focus on going back down, legs together, got it?” he asked. 

“O-okay,” she said nodding. 

Levi grunted and used as much force as he could, pushing her up into the air, giving her about 15 feet from the ground to work with. She quickly twisted her body, forcing her legs together and spun so she was falling on her back. As she began coming down, Levi continued to look at her, arms out and moved to get under her. When her body connected with his arms, he squatted down a little before standing back up. Levi quickly put her feet on the ground. “That’s enough of the idiocy for one day, Let’s get back to work,” he muttered, walking back towards the house. 

Leena turned to Eren with a prideful smile and he chuckled, shaking his head and giving her a high five. “I have never seen the Captain do anything like that,” Petra said with a laugh, shaking her head. “Things might just get a bit interesting, now that you’re here,” she said, looking at Leena. 

Leena chuckled and scratched the back of her neck. “I used to do that stuff all the time with my team. Kind of like a bonding exercise and to show them I’m not all that scary.”

“Still getting the weird urges then?” Eren asked, raising a brow. 

“Absolutely,” Leena said in a bit of a defeated tone. “It’s just random bursts of energy, I still can’t explain them,” she said, looking at him. “I get an idea and just have to, you know, do it.” She sighed and chuckled a little, looking back at the castle. “The inside is pretty much taken care of right?” she asked, looking at Eld, making him nod. “Don’t think there’s a hot spring around here do you?” she asked, making a face. 

“Actually,” Oluo said, making her look at him. “There is a natural one, the Royal’s who lived here before the Survey Corps moved in and made a bath house around it. I went to check it out and it’s still cookin.” 

“Oh hell yes,” Leena breathed out.


	7. Warm Waters

Leena sighed as she stood naked in her sleeping quarters, Levi having already headed outside so she had no fear of someone seeing her. She stretched a little, releasing a breath as she did and the door swung open behind her. She released a scream and tried to cover herself but a familiar laugh made her turn her head and the door shut. “Jesus Hange!” she released with a laugh, dropping her arms and moving to wardrobe, grabbing a skirt, blouse and under garments. 

Hange chuckled and moved to the bed, sitting down and crossing their legs, their arms behind them, holding them up. “Missed you when I got in last night!” they said. Leena began pulling clothes on and looked at them, pulling her hair from the twist at the back of her head, letting waves fall down to her mid back. “Gunther mentioned you went to the hot spring though so I figured you were just going to head to bed after.”

“Yeah,” Leena released, picking her belt off the ground. “Was tired after yesterday, we left so late from the wall that we didn’t get here till morning and we spent the day cleaning everything,” she explained. 

Hange nodded their head in understanding. “Do you know why I walked upstairs and found Levi sleeping in an armchair in the entertaining room?” they asked, furrowing their brows. “Oluo made a passing comment about how you two are supposed to be sharing this room.”

Leena furrowed her brows, just realizing she never actually woke up to him coming in the room at all that last night. “No... actually, I never woke up to him coming in. Maybe he wanted me to have privacy?” she asked. Then something cliqued in her mind. “I hope that was the case or he came in here on me sleeping…”

“Sleeping nude again?” Hange asked in a bored expression. 

“I had just gotten out of the bath!” Leena exclaimed. “We are going to be optimistic and say he wanted to give me privacy and never confront him about it,” she said simply, plucking a sun hat from the top of her wardrobe and pulling the string over her head, letting the piece hang over her back. “What are your plans, today?” she asked, looking at them from her spot across the room, cleaning their glasses. 

“I’m stealing Eren for the day, actually,” they said, nodding. “Going to bring him to help me with my work on the two Titans we managed to capture.”

“Oh, that’ll be fun!” Leena said with a smile, looking at them. Besides Erwin, Hange was the closest friend in the military and she knew of their passion for the Titans, and was probably one of the only people that showed genuine support in their efforts, just to see how happy they got. Leena bent over, grabbing her belt and putting it at her waist before tying the side of her skirt as she did the day before. 

“Gonna work on the weeds with the squad?” Hange said with a happy expression. 

“Actually, with the Captain’s graces, I was going to go set up some game traps and scavenge for some fruits and vegetables,” she said with a sigh. “Maybe make some baskets for clothing hampers.”

“He should be fine with that,” Hange said, waving a hand. “Always had a soft spot for you, I bet you could get away with a lot more than you think.”

“He doesn’t have a soft spot for me, trust me,” Leena said. “Looked like he was gonna kill me last night.”

Hange released a laugh. “Oh, I heard about your little hand stand stunt,” they said, smiling. Leena giggled as she pulled on her canvas shoes. “Really, you should start showing more people your goofy side. It’s my personal favorite.”

Leena put on a stoic face and held a slight snarl. “Don’t like me when I get down to business?” she asked in a slightly angered voice, making Hange laugh and she smiled. “I was hoping my little outburst would put a little light heartedness into the Squad.”

“It worked,” Hange said, nodding with a smile. “They were talking about it this morning over tea. They’re all taking a liking to you, pleasantly surprised.”

“Good thing, fear only does so much,” Leena said, nodding a little. “When are you coming back with Eren?” she asked. 

“Later tonight,” they said, nodding their head. 

“Join me in the hot spring?” she asked, raising a brow. “And could you bring some books possibly?” she asked, making a face.

Hange chuckled. “But of course!” they said with a smile. Hange stood up and the two began walking out together. “I love when you don’t wear the Uniform, this is just too cute,” they said, gesturing to her outfit, making Leena laugh. 

“Thank you!” she exclaimed smiling. 

“I gotta get going, but I’ll see you tonight,” they said, nodding at her. 

“See ya!” Leena said with a smile and they turned down a hall to go to the doors. Leena made her way to the dinning hall, planning to make some tea before going and finding something to carry rope and bring back produce. She opened the door, turning to close it behind her. When she turned back around, she jumped, seeing Levi leaning against the table facing the door, holding a cup of tea to his lips. “Levi!” she exclaimed, placing her hand to her heart. He didn’t answer, simply reaching behind him and grabbing something before holding it out for her. A cup of tea. Leena gave a small smile and took it from his hands, moving around the table to sit. “What are the plans for today?” she asked, looking at him as he turned and sat down. 

He took another sip and set the cup down on a tea plate, passing her the one on the table meant for her. She held the cup between both hands as she looked at him. “Clearing out the yard,” he said with a nod. “It’s plain, we don’t really have anything to put in it,” he said, lifting the tea up for her. 

“I prefer it plain,” she said, nodding her head. “Thank you for making me some.” he nodded his head at her and she eyed him for a moment. “So… I had a thought.”

“About?” he asked boredly, looking at her. 

“Rather than all of us working on the yard,” she started, setting down her cup. “I was thinking I could go set some game traps in the woods, I can check them in the mornings, and look for some produce. Maybe start making some clothing baskets so the dirty clothes aren’t just going on the ground and then finish getting the bathhouse cleaned. I only took care of the water last night.”

Leena’s eyes went to him as he pondered the thought but shrugged. “Just don’t go too far,” he said, nodding his head. “If I shout, you must be within range to hear it.”

“Fair,” she said, nodding her head and smiling a little. She continued drinking her tea in his silence and sighed a little. “How is the squad feeling?” she asked, looking at him fully. 

Levi shrugged a little. “Spirits are high as of right now, we have another month before we are going beyond the wall again. Plenty of time for them to regroup.”

“Well, at least they’re in a good mood,” she offered and he nodded. He finished his tea and stood, bringing his dishes to wash them. Leena watched his back as he did it before setting them out to dry. “Wash those once you’re done,” he said, beginning to walk towards the door. Leena nodded in understanding and he reached the door. “Remember, don’t go too far, you have to be able to hear me if I call.”

“Yes, Captain,” Leena said with a smirk and he rolled his eyes, exiting the room. 

The day was nice, Leena had successfully laced the nearby forests with traps made of rope. She brought Link with her, playing with him every so often and he just trailed behind her everywhere she went. Every so often, she heard Levi call out her name and she would simply shout a response. She returned with a basket full of fruits and vegetables, making the Scouts at work very happy. As they worked on the yard, she sat criss cross outside, Link by her side, as she used bendable branches to weave baskets for the group. At one point she had made lunch and tea for everyone, letting them eat outside, happily gorging the food she had collected in the woods. 

It was towards the end of the day now, and the sun was setting. Leena was outside with Petra, the two playing with Link, throwing sticks for him. Leena could see the two could potentially become quick friends, the only two females in a castle of men. Said men were bathing in the bathhouse that Leena had scrubbed earlier in the day, being instructed to clean it once they were done. Petra had already had her turn and Leena planned on having hers after the men were finished. She was smiling and laughing the whole time as Link began playing keep away, dodging the two women to keep his prize, a stick. 

Petra laughed and said her goodnight however, letting Leena bring Link to the stable the horses were in, giving him his own stall which she left his food and water in. She sighed a little, knowing now was the perfect time for her to go to the bath house as the men had passed her going inside. She didn’t see Levi, so she assumed he had just snuck past behind the men as they paraded out in nothing but towels, making her laugh and look away. She began making her way to the house, discarding her clothes in an outer room and placing them in a neat pile, slightly hidden. It was an old habit she started in the Trainee Corps but never fully shook. She moved to the water pump over a drain and got to work, washing herself before she was to get into the water. 

Leena grabbed a towel and opened the door, seeing it empty and she smiled a little, walking across the planked floor. The bottom of the spring was lined with a treated wood of sorts, slightly separated so new water was constantly flowing and seats lined its perimeter so you didn’t have to stand. She tied her hair in a knot in the back of her head, cracking her neck a little bit before making her way around so she could face the door, seeing the steam rising from the water and as she lowered herself in, a little moan released her lips. 

She was in there for about 15 minutes, her head leaning back with her eyes closed as she allowed herself to soak. The sound of the door opening made her chuckle. “You’re late,” Leena called in a singing tone. 

“Pardon?” a male’s voice said, making her eyes shoot open and her arms fly over her chest, her knees coming up on their own to cover her body. 

Leena looked quickly, seeing Levi standing at the water’s edge in nothing but a towel with a washcloth in hand. She quickly looked away. “I- I’m so sorry!” she released, looking to the wall, face bright red. “I thought you were Hange!” 

“Tsk.” The sound of his towel dropping made her jump and as he climbed in, small waves hit her skin. “Your partner isn’t back yet,” he said boredly, laying the washcloth over his face and leaning his head back. 

“Their is not my partner, I’m not even sure they like women,” Leena released, peering at him for a moment to realize his eyes were covered. 

A snicker escaped him. “That fact is the only reason?” he asked, feeling the water shift as she lowered her legs. Leena eyed him, never actually seeing him shirtless before, she was surprised by the amount of muscle he had on him. “Makes sense, never heard a word of you having a guy around.”

“I don’t like women that way either, you ass,” she released, smirking and he snickered again. “No guy has really tried, besides the creeps like Weilman, I’m not the most approachable.” she saw his chest move, indicating he let out a silent laugh. “I could say the same for you, you’ve never had a girl around.”

“Not any long term ones,” he released boredly. “Tend to keep that part of my life as discreet as possible.”

Leena nodded in understanding, seeing him breathe as he stretched his arms out to the side. “Ah, so you’re a whore.” her tone was an obvious joking one and she had a smirk on her face. 

Levi’s hand went to his face, holding the wash cloth as he released the first real laugh she ever heard from him. “Don’t make me laugh, I’m trying to be considerate by covering my eyes, the damn thing will fall off.”

“If that were true, you would have just waited till I was done,” she said with a smirk. 

He shrugged, removing the wash cloth and lazily lowered his head, looking at her face and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Not like I haven’t seen it before,” he said, rolling his eyes. 

“You may have seen a woman’s body before but not mine,” she said, rolling her eyes.

He made a face. “You really should wear clothes to bed, “ he offered and her eyes went wide, letting him release a ‘Tsk’ and shake his head. 

“How did I know that was why you slept downstairs?” she asked, shaking her head a little. 

Levi shrugged, leaning back again. “You know, I do have respect for you and didn’t want to put you in an uncomfortable situation?” he asked, his eyes not leaving her own. 

“And this isn’t an uncomfortable situation?” she asked, raising a brow. 

“Only if you make it one,” he offered, mimicking her brow raise. “We’re both adults, I’d like to think we could sit in a hot spring without making it a big deal.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Leena said, nodding her head and looked away from him, looking up at the ceiling. Levi nodded his head, taking the chance to allow his eyes to travel down her neck to her cleavage that was barely visible above the water. Then to her muscular shoulders and biceps, a smirk coming to his face a little. “So,” she breathed out, looking back down to his face and his eyes met hers. “If you could be doing anything with your life, what would it be? Like if you never joined the scouts?” she asked, making him furrow his brows. “Just go with it,” she said with an eye roll. 

Levi pondered for a moment, crossing his arms. “I always had this pipe dream of opening a tea shop,” he said, nodding his head a little. Leena showed interest and he rolled his eyes. “Same question.”

She shrugged a little. “I never really thought about it, but I’d like to think I would have had a home out in the country, a few kids maybe. Erwin already helped me make my orphanage dream a reality.”

“Kids,” he said, a little surprised. “Is that why you always nurture your squad so much? Lack of biological children so you take the urge out on those close.” Leena rolled her eyes but ultimately nodded her head. “And orphanage?”

“I helped establish one of the first public orphanages within Wall Rose,” she said, nodding a little. She could see the look on Levi’s face and could tell he wanted to know why she did that. “When I was younger, even before the fall of Maria, When I was around 10 or so, my mother fell ill and the doctor came to try and take care of her… Eren’s father, actually, that’s how we met. When she passed, my father fell to grief and was put on suspension from the Garrison, so we had no income. I picked up an apprenticeship with Eren’s father and he began giving me a portion of his earnings, so I was the one bringing money home. I gave up a lot of my childhood because of that, and don’t get me wrong, my father turned things around, but I don’t want kids to have to go through something like that, and I wanted to offer them a safe place to be, meals, a home. That’s why Petra and I were late meeting you to come here, I went to the orphanage to make sure they had everything squared away, say goodbye to the kids, you know?” she asked, furrowing her brows a little.

Levi had his mouth opened a little. “Is that why Erwin allowed you to take missions on your own, when it was convenient for you?”

Leena nodded. “That’s why my Titan kill count is so high, the more I go beyond the wall, the more money I make, and the majority of my money goes to the orphanage. When I’m not in the field, I’m usually there taking care of the kids.”

“Have you not saved any money all this time?” he asked, furrowing his brows. 

Leena shook her head. “No, I live on base for that exact reason. You know how the Survey Corps gives you two options, they either pay for your rent or a house for you, or you live on base and they give you the funds that would have gone to the house or rent?” she asked and he nodded, as it was basic knowledge in the Regiment. She nodded a little and shrugged. “I receive a monthly bonus due to me living on base and that’s the money I save. And then I live off half the funds remaining after what I put into the orphanage, the other half also goes into savings.”

“Have you just been screwing the system?” he asked, furrowing his brows. 

“For four years,” she said, smirking and nodding her head. 

“I somehow have even more respect for you,” he said, staring at her in disbelief and she chuckled. “And you’re doing it for good reasons too, not even your own personal benefit, that’s actually really noble of you.”

“Am I actually receiving praise from  _ the _ Levi Ackerman?” she asked, faking astonishment, making him roll his eyes. “I save my money so once this is all over, I can get the house in the country and have enough left over that I can still help the orphanage.”

“I would have had a very different childhood if someone did something like this when I was a kid,” he said softly, nodding his head. 

“What is your story, by the way?” she asked, tilting her head a little. “I’ve heard many different stories but I tried not to pay them mind because it wasn’t coming from the source.”

Levi grimaced a little, shrugging. “Wasn’t all sunshine and flowers, I guess,” he said with a shrug. “Came from the Underground, got tied up with some Thu-”

“Leena!” a voice shouted, making the two jump. “Hange is back and is hysterical! We can’t find the Captain anywhere but apparently something went terribly wrong today!”

“Fuck,” Leena said, her eyes wide and she and Levi bolted from the water at the same time, quickly covering themselves with towels and bursted through the door, seeing Gunther. They took off in their towels, not wasting time on trying to put on their clothes. Leena held her towel tightly to her chest, making sure her wrapping job didn’t come undone as she sprinted through the grass towards the door. Her main fear was something happened to Eren. She threw the door open, Levi directly behind her. “Hange!” she screamed, moving through the halls towards the entertaining room, knowing that was probably where they taken. As she entered, she saw Eren standing on the side of the room, a look of panic on his face and Hange was sitting on the couch, their head in their hands. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly moved to them, Levi entering as she sat down, putting an arm around their shoulders and allowing them to lean into her. “Hange, what happened?” she cooed to them. Everyone stared at her as she sat there, dripping wet in her towel and Levi stood in front of them, in his own towel, crossing his arm. 

“S-someone k-k-killed them,” Hange blubbered out. “Slaughtered them during the night!”

Leena sighed a little and looked up at Levi. “I’m so sorry, Hange,” she whispered, hugging them close to her. 

“The Titans?” Levi asked, annoyed that the situation was so intense due to the death of two monstrosities. 

“Levi,” Leena said in a warning tone. “Go get something to wrap her in, clearly you’re incapable of comforting a person,” she muttered and he rolled his eyes, exiting the room. “Please, can you leave us so we can discuss whats going on?” she asked, looking at the squad members. The four gave her a salute before briskly exiting the room. Eren went to leave as well and she didn’t even look at him. “Not you.” As Leena was holding Hange, she quickly realized they weren’t sad, rather, they were very angry. “Does Erwin know? What is he doing?” she asked. 

“He believes there’s a traitor,” they said, clenching their jaw. “And I agree, the Military police started an investigation, beginning with the inspection of the cadets’ ODM gear. I just don’t understand who would do something to set back humanity like this.”

Levi walked back in holding two blankets, handing one to Leena and Hange. Leena gave him a questioning look. “Cover yourself as well,” he had, nodding and crossing his arms. “What is Erwin’s stance?”

Leena stood for a second, fixing the towel and wrapping the blanket around her. “He believes there’s a traitor in the military,” they said, looking at the two Captains.

“We need to be operating in the highest level of secrecy now, Levi,” Leena said, looking at him and he nodded. 

“May be difficult,” Hange said, making the two look at them as they wrapped the blanket around themself. “Erwin is supposed to be integrating soldiers in the next week or two.”

Levi nodded, understanding. “We’ll have to work on training them, but it will give us an opportunity to keep an eye on suspicious behavior.”

Leena nodded her head. “Thank you for telling us, Hange,” she said, looking down at them. “You’re welcome to stay the night and collect yourself before you head back to the wall.”

Hange nodded a thanks and Levi sighed, looking down. “This is going to shit,” he muttered. “Did he give you any paperwork to relay to me?” he asked, looking at Hange. The look on his face showed he needed to put in the work that night to analyse the documents for hidden messages. they nodded their head, pointing to the bag that was on the ground. He nodded his head, moving to the bag and lifting it from the ground. “Leena, as a Captain I’m sure you’re aware of the commander’s methods?” he asked and she nodded. “I may need help with these.”

“Of course,” she said, nodding her head. 

“Let’s get to work, then,” he said, heading for the door. 

Hange looked between the two, furrowing their brows as they analysed the situation more. “Why are you guys in towels?” 

Levi released a Tsk and looked over his shoulder. “According to Leenna, you were late. Someone had to keep her company in the bathhouse.”

Leena’s face went pink. “Don’t say it like that!” she shouted as he exited the room. She looked down at Hange who was looking at her with an impressed expression. “I was waiting for you and he accidentally came in.” 

“Whatever you say Leena,” they retorted. 

“I swear to god,” she released, bearing a bored expression. She looked to Eren now. “You, are you alright?” she asked and he went wide eyed. 

  
  


“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Just… Confused about somethings, I guess.”

“Walk with me,” she said, nodding and heading from the door. Eren quickly followed and the two began walking together. “What’s wrong?” she asked quietly as he reached her side. 

“The commander, when we got to the dead Titans,” he stared, furrowing his brows. Leena took his arm, holding it with two arms as they walked. “He asked me who I thought the real enemy was.”

Leena nodded her head in understanding. “He speaks in riddles,” she said, nodding her head. “Don’t worry about that, alright? The captain and I are going to handle that.”

Eren nodded his head, trusting their capabilities. After a few seconds of silence, he scratched the back of his neck. “Can I ask something?” he asked. 

Leena chuckled. “We’re friends first Eren, you don’t have to ask permission to ask me things.”

Eren nodded his head. “A-are you sleeping with Captain Levi?”

Leena’s eyes went wide as she stared ahead of them. “Absolutely not,” she said slowly. 

“Alright,” he said, nodding. 

“How’s sleeping in the cellar?” she asked, trying to derail that conversation.

“A bit cold, a little dark,” Eren said honestly. 

Leena nodded. “I’ll bring you some more candles and blankets,” she said as they reached her room. “Try and get some rest, alright? Probably wasn’t a very fun day.”

Eren nodded as she released him and she walked into her room. Levi was sitting at the table, A pair of canvas pants on his hips and a long sleeved shirt covering his top half, the neckline being held together by a dangling string. She shut the door and put the blanket she was wearing in the newly woven basket, realizing Levi had put her clothes that were on the ground inside. She made her way over in her towel, sitting down in the chair near him and picking up one of the files on the table, opening it. 

“Not going to put clothes on?” Levi asked, not even looking at her as he was taking notes on the documents in front of him.

Leena leaned towards him, seeing he had only just gotten started by the looks of his notes. “Nothing you haven’t seen before,” she released. She crossed her legs under the table and accidentally gave him a light kick. “Sorry,” she said, not looking at him and reading the file in front of her. 

“Don’t let it happen again,” he muttered. Leena smirked as she began reading, purposefully swinging her leg and kicking him again. He eyed her for a second but rolled his eyes. “You’re the worst,” he whispered with a small smirk. 

“I take pride in that,” she said, reading through.

“Do you take anything seriously?”

“I try not to,” she breathed out, tilting her head. “If it’s not life or death I tend to just wing it. Can I steal your notes and add my own to it?” she asked, furrowing her brows as she stared at a set of symbols scattered throughout the document. 

“Try and keep them at least a little neat,” he said, blindly handing her his sheet and quill. Leena nodded her head and quickly began writing down the symbols. “She brought a stack of books as well,” he released, not looking at her. “What’s your thought on the whole traitor theory?”

“All it takes is one little soldier talking to the others to formulate a plan,” she released. “If his theory is correct, I’m sure there’s a hidden plan to counter it. No civilian could have killed a titan without training.”

“You did,” he muttered furrowing his brows and pulling the quil from her hand, beginning to write something down.

“In a blind rage,” she reminded, looking closer at the symbols. “Are you finding weird symbols?” she asked, furrowing her brows, ignoring the books for now. Levi leaned over, putting his head near hers to take a look. She pointed them out to him. 

“He’s using the symbols too?” he asked, furrowing his brows. He sat back in his chair, flipping through his pages. “In these he’s using the incorrect punctuation,” he said, offering her a page to look at. 

“So we not only have to decipher them separately,” Leena muttered, groaning internally. “We have to go through and get rid of the irrelevant information and piece it together.”

“It’s going to be a long night,” Levi muttered. 

“It was a bad night for me to skip dinner,” Leena muttered in response. “I need some food, do you want any tea?” she asked, looking up at him. 

“Please,” he said, raising his brows a little as he read through another page. “I have to do a report on Eren as well for Hange to bring with her in the morning.”

“Need me to proof read?” she joked, standing up and walking towards her wardrobe, pulling out canvas pants, a loose shirt and undergarments. 

“Fuck off,” he released, making her laugh as she began pulling out clothes. “Remind me to grab our clothes in the morning from the bathhouse.’

“Yes, sir,” Leena said sarcastically, making him crumple up a piece of paper and throw it at her. “You’re making a mess.” He watched her pick up the paper and toss it back to him before she left. 

The two were awake until three in the morning, Leena pacing around for the last half as they tried to piece together the information. They came to the realization that Erwin had been asking for them to provide different maps for the formation during their next mission, so as Levi began drafting them, Leena cleaned up after their dinner and tea, putting together their different notes and the paperwork to store them away so wandering eyes couldn’t get to them. She took a knife and pulled the bed away from the wall, prying up a floor board and putting them under it before moving everything back to how it was when they first started. After returning from bringing the dishes down and cleaning them, she saw Levi slumped back in the chair, arms crossed and his head hanging. 

“Levi?” she asked softly, brows furrowed as she moved to him. He didn’t respond and she tilted her head a little, but the sound of a light snore coming from him proved he was sleeping. A small smile came to her and she moved to the bed, grabbing the top blanket and bringing it over to him, laying it across him before she blew the candle out and made for the bed. 


	8. Hange

The next morning, Levi woke up first, looking down at his lap as it was warm. He saw the blanket and furrowed his brows, looking over to see Leena sleeping soundlessly in bed. He sighed a little and stood up, moving to his wardrobe and pulling out his uniform, quickly changing and putting his dirty clothes in their respective basket before grabbing his blanket and moving to the bed. “Leena,” he said, nudging her a little. He watched her face contort to displeasure and rolled his eyes. “Get up, brat,” he said, nudging her again. She opened her eyes and lazily looked up to him. “You have to go check the traps and I’m going to take Eren for a Perimeter check. Do you want tea?” he asked, making her nod and mutter a thanks. “Get up so we can make the bed.” 

Leena groaned but sluggishly pulled herself up and stretched. She moved from the bed and the two began making the bed, maneuvering around each other effortlessly to do their respective jobs. “Don’t forget the clothes in the bathhouse,” she breathed out, placing the last pillow. 

“I did forget,” he said, nodding a little. “Get changed, I’ll go grab them.”

“I’ll sweep and scrub the floors in here,” Leena said, nodding her head and he left the room, letting her grab her second to last skirt and a blouse, putting them on quickly and grabbing her second hat before moving to the supply closet to grab things to clean. 

As she finished sweeping and filling the bucket, she dropped down to the ground to start scrubbing. “Your shoes are outside the door,” Levi said, walking in and putting their clothes away. “I’ll leave your tea in the kitchen.”

Leena finished pretty quickly and moved to the kitchen, getting her tea, drinking it and cleaning it before she grabbed a basket and a sack before making for the woods. After checking traps and resetting a few, she came back with six dead rabbits and four that were still alive. The dead ones were in the sack she had over her shoulder while the others were in the basket with a top on it, a layer of grass and weeds placed in the bottom for bedding. When she returned, she was greeted by the squad. 

“What do you have?” Petra asked as she moved closer. 

Leena carefully set the basket down and tossed the sack to Eld. “Dead rabbits,” she said and he fumbled the sack. “We can have some fresh meat.” She then placed her hand on the basket. “And these guys lived, one male, three females. I’m not sure how long we are going to be here, so figured if they do as rabbits do, we will have some baby rabbits we can raise for livestock. One seems to already be carrying,” she said, carefully opening the basket to show the group. “I plan on making a pen for them today near the stables if any of you are willing to help.”

Petra nodded her head saying she would and Gunther agreed as well. “We could just fix up the chicken coop,” Gunther said, making her furrow her brows. “Come on, I’ll show you.” Leena nodded her head and he led the two women, Leena carrying the baskets. Sure enough, there was a Chicken coop surrounded by a low wire fence. “Would it work?”

“Perfectly, actually. We’d have to clean it out and reinforce the boards but this fence seems pretty intact still,” she released, setting down the basket and grabbing the fence. “Made a lot less work, nice job,” she said, smiling as she looked at him. They got work work almost immediately, Petra cleaning the inside of the coop, Gunther reinforcing the walls while Leena reinforced the pen. Once they finished, Leena went out to find betting and edible weeds for them. By their end, Levi was walking towards the pen as Leena placed the bedding down inside the coop. He hopped the fence and made his way to the open door. He walked inside, the sound of his boots making her jump. “God, we need to get you a bell,” she muttered, looking up at him. 

“Do we have chickens that I’m unaware of?” he asked. 

Leena rolled her eyes. “Look in the basket,” she said as she finished and stood up. 

Levi made a face and lifted the top, peering in. “Rabbits.”

“One is carrying and there’s two other females, one male,” she said, moving to them and carefully tipping it, letting the rabbits fly out and move to hide inside the coop. “Don’t know how long we are going to be stuck here, right? A little meat wouldn’t hurt.”

Levi made a little impressed face. “Nice thinking,” he said, nodding. “So does this mean you have live traps as well as ones that kill set up?”

“Figured we could bring them back here and kill them as we go so we don’t have to eat destroyed meat.” Leena looked up at him and saw an unreadable expression as he stared at her. “What?” she asked, furrowing her brows. 

Levi stayed silent for a moment but shook his head a little. “Nothing,” he released and she nodded her head. “It’s a good plan. Hange is planning to come back at the week’s end, wanting to run some experiments with Eren.”

Leena made a face. “Is that good or bad?” she asked. 

“Well, might as well see the level of control he has.”

“Is he agreeing to it?” she asked, furrowing her brows. 

Levi eyed her. “Does it matter? It needs to be done.”

“Well, it should matter a little,” Leena said furrowing her brows. “He’s surrounded by Titan slayers, he’s the one taking all the risk.”

“And the whole purpose of him being with us is to test his abilities and ensure he has control,” Levi fired back. “Don’t let your personal connections blind you to our purpose here.”

“I thought we were meant to protect him, not set him up for slaughter,” Leena said, anger rising in her voice as she looked up at the man. “Isn’t your job to follow orders, captain?” venom dripped from her voice. 

“Know your place,” he spat. “You’re here to remember how to be a respectful and trustworthy Captain. I’m the one who’s meant to teach you that. We are following the commander’s orders and you best stop questioning mine. This is my job, my squad and my duty. Quit being a pain in the ass and follow the fucking plan.”

Leena stared at him with wide eyes but her face held anger, her brows knitted together and she could feel herself heating up. “Well forgive me Sir, If im such a pain in the ass, I’ll rid you of my presence, you arrogant son of a bitch!” she spat back, moving past him and lifting her skirt a little to hop over the fence, walking away from him before he could respond. 

“Leena!” he shouted after her but she continued walking. “Shit,” he grumbled as she disappeared around the corner. 

  
  


Leena now hid away in her chambers, pacing back and forth in anger, muttering to herself. Eren walked by but could feel the tension emitting from the room, making him furrow his brows and look in. “Leena?” he asked, making her look at him, her skirt swaying due to her speed. 

“Arrogant, short, vile son of a bitch!” she shouted, making Eren jump. “Who does he think he is? I’m still a damn Captain, I should have a fucking say in the operations preformed here!”

“W-what’s going on?” he asked, stepping into the room as she continued. “What’s wrong?”

Leena huffed and shook her head. “Nothing! Just feel like twisting limbs and breaking bones! Doing a disgusting amount of property damage.” Leena looked back to him, a crazed look on her face. “I’m doing fucking great Eren!”

“I’m sensing sarcasm and a lot of hostility and it’s quite unsettling,” he said, eyeing her as he walked to the bed sitting down. He patted beside him and she looked at him again. “Come on, sit, talk. I know I’m not Armin but you can still talk about this shit with me.”

“I’m fucking going to stomp his knee caps backwards!” Leena shouted, throwing herself back on the bed, laying down and Eren flopped back beside her. 

“Please don’t kill anyone by accident,” he breathed out. 

“I’m not a fucking idiot,” Leena breathed out. “If I do it, it will be on purpose.”

Eren laughed a little and shook his head. “Come on, tell me what’s going on.”

“The fucking Captain,” she breathed out, looking at the ceiling, “he fucking told me to know my place, and that it is his job to make me a better captain. He expects me to blindly follow his orders, and he called me a pain in the ass for questioning whether or not testing your abilities was the best idea.”

“That’s why you’re so mad?” he asked, making her look at him. He rolled his eyes and took her hand, rolling onto his side and she did the same, their faces were six inches apart and he looked into her eyes. “Leena, one of the first real interactions I had with that man was him beating the shit out of me to get me out of jail. He’s harsh, it’s just who he is. He calls me shitty names every day, reminds me of my place, and demands respect. Unfortunately, here, he is the captain and we do have to respect and follow him. We both owe him our lives.”

“As soon as I can, I’m getting out of here, and if Armin and Mikasa decide to join the scouts, I’m pulling all three of you into my squad,” she said, making a determined face. “I’ll be damned if I let that bastard get you three killed.” 

“Leena,” he breathed out, making her look back into his eyes. “Ever since we met, you always worked so hard to protect us… but at some point, we are going to get hurt. You can’t let yourself take the blame. For once, let me help and protect you. If you can’t stand him, like really can’t, just answer with yes or no sir, and do what he says. Compliance is how you show your respect, even if right now you don’t have any. Avoid contact otherwise, just think like a soldier, not a captain. Here, it doesn’t matter how you’re feeling, it matters how you take the pressure and better yourself from it.”

“If he sees me the way he sees you,” she breathed out. “I’m going to give myself the same treatment you’re receiving.”

And that was exactly what she did. The next two nights, she slept in the dungeons in the cellar by Eren, avoiding conversation with Levi at all cost and when she wasn’t able to, her answers were short and simple. She tended to her dog, the rabbits, kept up with the cleaning, laundry and did her own training by herself. Everyone in the squad noticed the change, and couldn’t help but wonder what had happened, but Eren shared no information on their talk or the current status of the two Captains. It wasn’t until Levi sat at the kitchen table, everyone eating as he worked on the maps for incoming recruits, that things took a turn. Leena had sat silently the whole meal, getting up abruptly and quickly cleaning her plates. 

As she moved by the table Levi didn’t even look up at her. “I need a second eye on the blueprints, stay,” he muttered, making a final line and her stop in her tracks. 

“I’m sure you’ve got them handled adequately, sir,” Leena said, beginning to exit. 

  
  


Levi clenched his jaw, stood up, and slammed a fist on the table. “Everyone out now,” he sounded, making them all jump to their feet. “Not you, captain, you stay.” The demand in his voice didn’t affect her in the slightest, she stood emotionless at the wall as the squad quickly left, Eren sending her a glance and she just nodded her head. As the door closed, Levi moved quickly, grabbing her forearm and pulled her to the table. Her butt collided with it’s edge and he trapped her between his arms. “What has gotten into you? You aren’t sleeping in our quarters, you aren’t helping with plans, and you aren’t speaking to me. I’m trying to build a squad so you can stay here with me and help me run the whole operation!”

Leena furrowed her brows, quickly putting her right arm over his left and then under it, breaking his hold before grabbing the back of his neck and slamming him face down on the table, holding him there. “Stay here?” she shouted. “We haven’t worked together for a week and we are already fighting! Why the hell would I stay here?” she bellowed. 

“Because that’s what we do! I tell you when you’re being a pain in the ass and you tell me when I’m being an asshole!” he shouted, lacing his leg between hers and pulling her outer one in, slamming her onto her back against the table, holding her in place, and standing between her legs. “We balance each other out, Leena! If we lead together, neither of us has to forfeit who we are as people. You get to be the fun captain that’s able to comfort the squad and I get to be the hardass! Like it or not, we’d make a damn good team!”

“You can’t fucking stand me and you know it!” she shouted, looking up at him as he leaned over her body, face close to hers. “Why did you even bring me here, huh? You could have just let them kill me off and you wouldn’t have had to deal with me!”

“I was trying to protect you!” he shouted. “I couldn’t bring myself to let them kill you off! It was never about you knowing your fucking place, Leena! It was about getting you comfortable with who I fucking am so we can build something! It was about reuniting you with one of your childhood best friends in hopes that you’d be fucking happy for once! I lied to you, I never should have said the shit I did a few days ago, but I did. I fucked up and forgot who I was talking to. But seriously? The silent treatment? If this is how you resolve conflict, I’m not surprised you’re fucking single. You should have ripped me a new ass when I said that. You have always stood up and given your opinion, fought back things you knew were wrong, so why the hell are you giving up now?”

“I haven’t given up,” Leena growled, “and I don’t need your protection.”

“You would be dead right now without it,” he said, making her eyes go wide. “Like it or not, I want you alive. Its not about needing protection, because I know you're strong, you have been through hell and back and came out the other side, still goofy, light hearted and being able to find the good in things. Because you are strong. This doesn’t get easier, things don’t stop being difficult but that doesn’t mean you stop fighting.” his grip was loosening with every word and finally, he let her go, stepping out from between her legs that hung over the side of the table. As she forced herself to sit up, he turned from her. “We need to work together, Leena. You’re too stubborn to admit it, but we make a good unit. All I’m asking is for a little give in this.”

  
  
  


As the two week period came to an end, Hange trapped Levi in the joint bedroom, Leena having started to sleep in there again and the two trying to find compromise in their work together. Hange forced the captain to sit and he groaned. 

“You know I have to take your statement on Leena’s progress, quit fighting it,” they muttered. “So, what has it been like?”

“This is stupid,” he muttered. 

“I’m aware,”Hange released, pulling out a notepad. 

“You want honesty?” he asked, beyond his wits at this point, lack of sleep, food, and an underlying hostility coming through. Hange nodded their head and crossed their legs. “I haven’t been able to fucking look at her with out the image of her bent over a table in nothing but a fucking sun hat for the past two damn weeks,” He spat, making both his eyes and Hange’s go wide. “Don’t fucking include that,” he said, looking up at them with wide eyes. 

“I won’t but now I’m intrigued,” they said, shocked at his little outburst. they set down the notebook, proving they weren’t going to record what he said. “How the hell did that come about?” 

Levi sighed. “I saw her naked in the fucking bath house our second day here,” he said, putting his head in his hands. “Then we got into a bit of a fight and I slammed her onto a table and now its the only thing I fucking see when I look at her.”

“And how is that affecting the working together?” Hange asked. 

“Its not, ironically, we got back to working together, actually have gotten more things done than I expected, she understands why I wanted her here in the first place.”

“And that you want to sleep with her?”

“No,” Levi said immediately. “God no and if you tell her, I’ll end you.”

“Are you going to tell her?” Hange asked, furrowing their brows. 

“Absolutely not.”

Hange raised a brow. “That’s self destructive.”

“I’m aware,” he muttered, leaning back into his chair. “But after the hearing, there’s no way I’d make any sort of advance, it’s obvious she hates people in power making passes at her.”

“No,” they said, shaking their head. “She hates people in power believing they override someone’s right to say no because they have power. It doesn’t help that the people she came into contact with became aggressive. If you tell her and have respect for her and her feelings, the worst that will happen is she says no.” Levi looked at them with his brows furrowed. “How has she been acting towards you since the table incident?”

“Its all business,” Levi said, leaning forward a little and Hange smirked a little. “What?”

“She’s hiding something,” they explained. 

“How? We’ve completely lost the goofiness and playful banter aspect?”

“Exactly, with Leena, that shows inner conflict towards you, is she still acting like that towards the squad?”

“Well yeah, she started back up with them but she’s probably still mad at me.”

“Did you apologize and say you were wrong for whatever the fight was about?” Hange asked, resting their elbows on the table. Levi nodded his head, still confused. “Then she’s dropped that issue. If someone is able to admit to their wrong doings, she doesn’t hold it against them if they are showing they aren’t going to make the same mistake twice. She‘s huge on second chances, trust me.”

“Well how the hell do I handle it?” Levi asked, shaking his head. “Walk up to her and be like hey, I know we haven’t had an out of work conversation in a week but want to engage in some inter-”

The sound of the door opening made him shut his mouth and Leena walked in, pulling off her hat. She looked up and saw the two and made a face. “So sorry,” she released. “The new recruits are due to arrive soon, I need to put on my uniform.”

“Its fine!” Hange said with a smile. “Levi was just giving me a glowing report about your efforts and progress since being here!” they bore a large smile and stood up. 

Leena made a face, looking at the man. “He was?” she asked, a little surprised. 

“Don’t act so surprised,” he muttered, standing up and pushing his chair in. “Get changed and outside to greet them,” he said, walking to the door and exiting, shutting the door behind him. 

“What did he say?” Leena asked, looking at Hange with a surprised face. 

“That you’ve been very cooperative through all of this and insightful,” they said, looking down at their empty notepad. “To quote, ‘diligent in her efforts while still maintaining an effortless positive energy towards the squad members and encouraging hard work and compliance to one Eren Jaeger,’ I’d say that’s good work,” they said, closing the pad and looking at Leena. Though, these words actually came from Eren, Hange couldn’t possibly discuss what Levi had actually expressed. Seeing their friend’s expression made them release a laugh. “Why do you look so surprised?”

“Him and I… got into a fight last week,” Leena said, confusion overcoming her as she walked towards her wardrobe and collecting her uniform. As she stripped, she looked at them. “I’m just shocked he didn’t talk about that…”

“Well, how are you feeling about the whole thing?” Hange asked, wanting the scoop from both sides. Leena made a face and they rolled their eyes. “See, now I know you’re hiding something.”

“I hate scientists, you know that?”

“Well, its evident you’re masking something going on in that little head of yours,” Hange said with a chuckle. “Come on, what’s going on?”

“Doesn’t leave us?” Leena asked. 

Hange got giddy and launched themself onto the bed. “Share, please.”

“Get your boots off my bed,” Leena warned and Hange quickly scooted so their feet were hanging off. “Thank you. So, we got into an argument, didn’t talk for like two days, but then he like snapped.”

“Snapped?”

“Snapped,” Leena said, nodding, pulling up her pants and tying them. “So, he confronted me for being a bitch, which I was, I’ll admit it. Being a complete pain in the ass,” she said, nodding and pulling on a white button up. “And things escalated and he ended up slamming me on my back and pinning me before ripping me a new one while also like, admitting my strengths and shit… he wants me to stay with him as a captain, so we can like run a squad together.”

“That’s a good thing!” Hange explained but saw her expression and got confused. “Isn’t it?”

“I can’t help but have this feeling he isn’t going to give me the choice,” she said, disappointment in her voice. “Like, he won’t give Erwin the okay for me to even have a squad again, and saying I’m incapable so I’ll just be stuck here.”

“Would you stay?” Hange asked. 

Leena sighed and started pulling on her jacket. “I don’t know, maybe if he actually asked rather just saying it's happening.”

“Do you not like working with him?” Hange asked, making Leena huff. 

“I do, and that’s the problem,” she said quietly. “I admire the Captain, a lot, there is a lot of respect for him, but I’m not sure that feeling is mutual.”

“Leena,” Hange said, shaking their head. “Levi has a lot of respect for you. He’s many things but he isn’t a liar. Are you sure these feelings are based solely on the idea of his stance on you as a captain?”

“What do you mean?” Leena asked, beginning to braid her hair back. 

“Could you possibly have feelings you can’t explain and the idea of being stuck here is worrying you because you don’t want to actually have to face them?” Hange asked bluntly. 

“What?” Leena asked, furrowing her brows and dropping the single braid to her back. 

Hange rolled their eyes. “Come on, you’ve never been great at confronting feelings, you let them bottle up until they explode. Is it possible you have feelings for Levi? Because otherwise I have no clue why you’d let his opinion of you actually bother you.”

“I’ve known him for two weeks?” 

“That’s an excuse not an answer,” Hange stated. “I won’t judge you, he’s attractive, kind of cold but ultimately a good man. Intelligent, a good leader, lacks a sense of hum-”

“What does this have to do with anything about my Ranking status?” Leena asked,shaking her head. 

“It doesn’t,” Hange said, shaking their head. “This has to do with you and your self destructive tendency of ignoring your feelings because you don’t understand them.”

“I don’t ignore my feelings,” Leena defended. 

“Then what did you feel when he slammed you on the table?” Hange asked. 

“Anger,” Leena said bluntly. 

Hange raised a brow. “Anything else?”

“I don’t know,” Leena said, making a face. 

“Arousal?” 

“I’m leaving,” she said, turning and starting to walk out. 

Hange let out a laugh. “I knew it!” they shouted. “You could just, you know, talk to him.”

“I’d rather dive off the outer wall without my gear,” Leena said, opening the door and starting to walk out. Hange released a laugh and Leena rolled her eyes. “Discuss this with anyone, I’ll hunt you down,” she warned. 

  
  


She left Hange in the hall moving outside to see Section commander Nes was outside, talking with the new Scout members. “Commander Nes!” she exclaimed as he got his scarf away from his horse. He turned around and smiled at her as she came out of the castle, the new recruits looking at her with wide eyes. “Pleasure to see you, sir,” she said, nodding her head.

“Captain Leena!” He exclaimed. “There you are!” 

“Forgive my tardiness,” she said, placing her hand on her chest as she approached. “Had to get changed.”

“That’s alright,” he said, nodding his head. “Rookies!” he called, making all of them salute. “This is Captain Leena Novikoff.”

“I’m fairly certain a few of us have already been acquainted,” Leena said, nodding her head at the group. “At ease.” as they all nodded and did so, she smiled a little. “I thought Captain Levi would be out here already to greet you, but he may have gone on a formation training mission,” she said, nodding her head. 

“Well, do you have plans for the rookies today, Captain?” he asked, looking at her. 

Leena nodded her head. “We will be having a formation briefing to ensure complete understanding of the plan, and then you all get the pleasure of cleaning the barracks for yourselves, and then I’ll provide a small tour.”

Leena led the discussion, then showed the rookies where who would be sleeping, and then gave a tour before she was going to release them to get cleaning. As she stood in front of them. “If you have any questions, please come to the main building and feel free to ask. Captain Levi and I share quarters so if you’re unable to find me, you can ask him. You’ll have duty assignments by the morning.” she offered them a salute and they gave one as well, allowing her to nod and head back towards the main building, but multiple sets of feet coming after her made her stop and turn. Armin, Conny, Mikasa, and Jean stood in front of her. She smirked a little and crossed her arms. “Well, well,” she said, tilting her head. “You joined after seeing what can happen?”

Armin rolled his eyes. “Am I allowed to hug you, captain?” 

Leena laughed and grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him to her and hugging him tightly. “I won’t lie, I’m pleased you’re here, now I can keep an eye on you.” Armin released a small laugh and she eyed Mikasa. “You too,” she said, nodding at her. She pulled away from Armin and hugged the girl as well. “Don’t worry, I’ve been keeping him out of trouble.”

“We saw him on our way in,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem,” Leena said. “I wish I could stay and chat,” she said, pulling away. “But Levi’s absence means I have to handle the paperwork for the day.”

“Paperwork?” Conny asked. 

“We leave the wall once a month, Conny,” she said, making him smile knowing she remembered his name. “Captain life isn’t just slaying titans and giving orders. Pleasure to see you came to us, you’re a good fighter and we need some of that energy around here. You as well Jean. You four stay out of trouble, alright? I’ll see you at dinner.” 

“Thank you Leena,” Jean said, nodding. 


	9. The Encounter

(So sorry I'm late posting, but this is NSFW, you have been warned)

The days were passing and Leena was counting them down, waiting until she was meant to help lead a collection of rookies beyond the wall to try and understand Erwin’s plan. She didn’t even know what squadron she was going to be assigned to. Was she going to lead a group or be stuck at Levi’s side? Since her talk with Hange, she grew more and more awkward around the Captain, making her wish she wouldn’t have to ride with the squad. They were to leave the next day, so she sat in her room at the table, surveying the map she was meant to share with Levi. She ate in silence, pulling apart the loaf of bread she had baked earlier in the day. She needed to ask him where she was going to be placed. 

The door opened and she didn’t look over at who had entered, as she already knew who it was, instead she set down her bread and looked at the map. “We need to talk,” she said, making Levi raise a brow as he took off his cape, slowly pulling off his jacket as well. 

“About?” he asked, walking towards her and taking off his ODM gear. 

Leena looked up at him and crossed her arms and legs as he sat down beside her, looking at the map on the table. “I have been unable to get a clear answer on what group I’ll be with in the morning,” she said, looking at his face feigning disinterest. 

“Wh- Leena you’re moving with my squad,” Levi said, looking up at her like she was an idiot. 

“Fine,” she said, uncrossing her legs and leaning in towards him. “Do you plan on giving me the okay to lead a squad again or are you just going to trap me here with you?” she asked, getting right to the point. 

“Excuse me?” he asked, feeling his eyes snap in her direction. 

“Am I going to get the choice to stay or go, or has it already been decided for me?” she asked, crossing her arms, emphasizing her annoyance.

Levi stared at her for a moment. “Leena, I have every intention of letting you have a choice, I already gave Erwin the notice,” he said, making Leena’s eyes go wide. “After this mission, it's going to be completely up to you if you stay here and help me.”

“D-did you actually?” she asked, leaning back in her chair slightly. 

“Leena, if being here doesn’t make you happy, I’m not going to hold you back from doing what you want,” he said, shaking his head. “You don’t belong in a cage, you’ve proven you’re more than capable of leading again. If you want to go, you’re free to make that decision,” he stated plainly, rising from his chair and beginning to head for the door.

Leena could see he was upset, so as she leaned forward she bit her lip, “Well, what do you want?”

The question made him stop in his tracks. “What do I want?” he asked, astonished she’d ask such a thing. 

“Yes,” she repeated, staring into the back of his head.

He turned around, looking at her. “You,” he replied, causing her to furrow her brows. “I want you to stay,” he said calmly, beginning to walk towards her. As he reached the table, he grabbed the back of her chair and shoved it, forcing it to turn so she was facing him. He leaned forward so his face was directly in front of her. “I thought I made that perfectly clear.”

“But why?” she asked,  far too aware of the heat from his breath . 

He growled a little, his hand diving down between her legs and grabbing the edge of the chair. With one hand on the backrest and the other holding the seats edge, he forced it to go up on it’s back legs. He was leaning over her as she stared at him with wide eyes. “I want to lead with you, by your side. While you’ve been completely fucking with my head as a man, you’re keeping me level headed as a Captain. I want you to choose to stay here with me, not for me to be a stepping stone in your military career.” 

Leena furrowed her brows a little, her feet dangling as his face was dangerously close to hers. “Is that how you think I see you?” she inquired. 

“Well, we haven’t really spoken for a bit,” he grumbled, holding her steady. “I don’t have much to go off of.” 

“Can you put me back on the ground?” she asked. 

“What? Don’t trust me?” Levi teased her, pushing her backwards a little more, not showing any sign of his strength letting up. “I have no idea how you see me, feelings for people change. For all I know, you have no respect for me. Or rather, you could have a severe distaste for me.”

“That’s not the case,” she responded, letting the nervousness fade from her expression.

“Then what is it, Leena?” he asked. 

Leena’s hand moved before she could think, grabbing the cravat that hung around his neck and pulling him down to be face to face with her. She leaned up quickly and swiftly placed her lips against his. Levi’s eyes shot open in surprise, seeing hers were closed as she held him in place. His grip on the chair’s edge tightened and he removed his other hand from the backrest, moving it to the side of her neck and he held her as he kissed her back with just as much force. He held the chair steady as they kissed, running his tongue across the bottom of her lip as her free hand moved to his hair. Her back arched as she opened her mouth for him, allowing him to stick his tongue in to meet her own. The battle for dominance was quick, and Levi took control. He swiftly dropped the chair back onto all fours before removing his hand from her neck and gripped her thighs, lifting her up and carrying her towards the bed. He didn’t remove his lips from hers as he gently laid her down, crawling on top of her. 

Leena gripped his hair tightly as they made out, feeling his hands moving up her sides, one moving to grab her right breast, forcing her to release a small moan. The sound of someone knocking on the door forced Levi to curse as he pulled away, hand still on her chest as he looked at the door. “State your name and business,” he shouted, fondling the woman under him as she stared at the door in panic. 

“Commander Erwin,” the voice boomed, causing Leena to push Levi off of her. “We need to discuss the plans for the morning.” Leena quickly moved from the bed, heading to the table silently due to her bare feet and she sat, pulling her hair from the now messy braid and ran her fingers through it. Levi hurried to a seat, facing the door. “May I enter Captains?”

Leena pointed to his hair and he quickly pat it down. “Of course sir,” he called out. 

As Erwin opened the door, the two stood up and offered a salute. “Erwin,” she said, offering a smile with a deep blush on her cheeks. 

“Leena,” he said, smiling and nodding to her as he entered. “Levi. Good, you have a map out already,” he said, heading towards the table. Leena sat back down as he did, looking down at it. “So, the rookies all have their Formation plans?” he asked, before looking up at Levi. 

“Yes,” he said with a small nod. “Those you instructed were given the false plans.”

“Good,” Erwin said, nodding. “Leena, you gave them a more in depth plan, right? Detailing what the different flairs meant?” 

“Yes sir,” she nodded. She was stiff and Erwin noticed it the second he entered the room. 

“Good,” he said, eyeing her for a second. “Is something wrong? Your face is red and you’re quite stiff.”

“I’m just on the last day of a cold,” Leena said, waving her hand. 

“Will you be fine for tomorrow?” he asked, furrowing his brows. 

Leena nodded, “Of course,” she said, looking at the map. “I’m already feeling much better, it may not even be a cold, probably just allergies, if I’m being honest. The damn rabbits have been making me sneeze since we first brought them in.”

Erwin nodded his head in understanding. “Well, back to the plan. We have to leave before day break if we want to make it to the Eastern gate at a reasonable time, from there, we break off into our sections once we reach open fields.”

“Sir,” Leena asked. “Is there any plan to take back Wall Maria in this?” she asked, furrowing her brows and looking at him. “Due to our path… it doesn’t really seem like it's a possibility.”

“Don’t worry about that just yet,” Erwin said. “If I’m being honest, this has turned into more of a weeding project… our goal is to draw out the traitor.”

“Hence the different maps,” Leena breathed out in understanding. 

Erwin nodded and looked at the map. “Due to the different formation plans, those I’ve suspected won’t have a clear location on Eren, and if they are trying to hurt humanity's chances, there is no way they won’t target him next.” Their conversation went on for another half hour before Erwin nodded, standing up. “Alright, you two get some sleep,” he said, looking at them. “I’m sure you haven’t been able to get much due to all the paperwork I’m sending you.”

“Thanks for that,” Levi said sarcastically. 

Erwin gave him a look of surprise. “Seems Leena’s boldness is rubbing off on you Levi.” He showed no sign of anger, in fact he was amused. “Nice to know you’ve grown as fond of her as I have. Leena, I’m sure he told you, he’s provided a statement that you should be given a squad once we return. Congratulations.” 

“Thank you sir,” Leena said, smiling a little. 

Erwin smirked and nodded. “Don’t thank me,” he said, gesturing briefly towards Levi. He began walking towards the door and pulled it open. “You two can return to your canoodling now, just make sure to get some rest after. I Hope I didn’t kill the mood, but a little advice, bar the door, could have been a rookie who walked in on that,” he said, smirking as he shut the door behind him. 

Leena sat, looking forward with wide eyes and Levi slammed his head into his hands. “Please tell me he didn’t just say that,” she released, stiff as a board. 

“No, he definitely did,” Levi said, pulling his head from his hands. 

“I can’t jump out of the window, right?” she asked, looking at him. 

“No, you definitely can’t,” he said, sighing. Leena stayed looking forward as Levi got up and rounded the table, heading towards the door.

“Well, what the fuck are we going to do now?” Leena asked, leaning her head back over the backrest.

Levi stood with his back to her but looked over his shoulder a little. “Believe we won’t regret it.”

“Do you?” she asked, looking to him. 

Levi smirked a little, putting the door bar down, locking it in place before turning. His finger went up into his cravat and pulled it from his neck. He began unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt, Leena seeing the top of his build chest. “Absolutely not,” he said, beginning to walk towards her. Leena looked up at him as he grabbed her knees and yanked her forward, lifting her from the chair and holding her thighs at his sides. “Do you?” he asked, tilting his head a little while looking up at her. She stared into his storm like eyes before slowly shaking her head, causing him to smirk. “Good,” he said, walking her back to the bed and resuming the position they were in. “Now, where were we?” he whispered before attaching his lips to her neck. Leena’s mouth opened to release a gasp, feeling his teeth graze her flesh. His hands quickly undid the straps of her gear, beginning to pull them from her shoulders, and she leaned up towards him to help. It took a little bit, but soon they both were free from their gear, now just in their uniform basics. 

Levi removed her shirt, kissing her collar bones as he made his way. Leena’s legs were bent on the bed, cushioning his hips while her hands were in his hair, embracing every kiss he left on her flesh and soon, he was looking down at her chest, only seeing her under garment and he lazily pulled the button up from her, tossing it to the floor before sitting back on his knees and grabbed her wrist, pulling her up to him. “Lift your arms,” he breathed out, his gaze dropping and mouth gaping. Leena did as she was told and he carefully relieved her of the upper undergarment. He pushed her back onto the bed before diving in, his mouth attaching to her nipple while one hand grabbed the other breast, fondling it as his tongue flicked the bud in his mouth. Leena released a small moan, her eyes closing as she felt the sensation of his tongue. Levi’s thumb was rubbing the other bud in small circles while his free hand gripped her thigh. He could feel his pants becoming tighter and he leaned back up, quickly unbuttoning his shirt fully and tearing it from his shoulders, tossing it to the ground behind him. Leena looked up at him and couldn’t stop herself from biting her lip, her eyes scanning his chest and abs. He started undoing his own pants and made a small hand gesture telling her to do the same. Her hands went down, untying the waist of her pants and she moved further onto the bed, quickly removing her own garments as she watched him take off what little he still had left on. 

Levi looked down at her, grabbing her ankle as she threw the pants to the floor. He pulled her back towards him and slowly slid his hands up her legs, reaching the band of her underwear and hooking two of his fingers in it, sliding them from her body. He leaned towards her and she caught sight of his member, which was substantial in size. She unconsciously clenched her jaw in anticipation. A hand slid under her back as Levi lifted her a little, moving her so her head was resting on the pillows before he climbed back to his spot between her legs. He went to kiss her neck as his hand traced down her body to her womanhood, seeing if she was ready while also taking the opportunity to tease her for a moment. Levi felt her gasp as his thumb came in contact with her bundle of nerves, smirking as he bit her lightly. 

“Seems you’re more ready than I thought,” he whispered, his voice raspy as he moved to her lips, kissing her again. His tongue slid in her mouth as two finger’s entered her, slowly pumping in and out of her while his thumb continued to trace slow circles on her nerves. She moaned against his lips and he felt how tight she actually was around him. He pulled back a little, making her open her eyes to look at him as his hand continued to work. “Let me know if I’m too rough,” he muttered and she slowly nodded. He pulled his hand from her and brought his fingers to his lips, sucking at the fingers, tasting her. He brought his hand down to his member, and after a few gentle pumps he aligned himself between her legs, hovering above her. He pushed into her slowly, and a shocked gasp escaped her lips as she savored the pain of him filling her. “Grab on to me if you need to,” he muttered, his tone becoming increasingly husky. Leena gripped his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh. His lips connected with hers as his thumb returned to her clit, slowly rubbing it as he pulled out and slammed back into her, his hips meeting hers and jolting her body up. He groaned a little again, his thumb picking up speed as he rolled his hips into her, faster this time, and after about three harsh thrusts, he was ramming into her, feeling her tighten even more around him. “Fuck,” he airily released, the hand holding him above her moving to the headboard, gripping it tightly. Leena’s eyes traveled up his arms, seeing his flexing bicep as he rammed into her harshly, her hand flying up to grab it tightly. His lips reconnected with hers, suppressing her moans. He felt her hands move around to his back, her nails dragging across his flesh as he picked up his pace. 

Leena could feel her body moving with every movement he made, his hips meeting hers, and his groans of pleasure sounding softly through their kiss. She could feel the blood coming to her face as an unfamiliar knot slowly began forming in her lower stomach, his thumb continuing its attack on her clit. 

He pulled back from the kiss and brought one of her legs up to his shoulder, going deeper as he bent her. His thumb was still at work, toying between her legs as he was plowing into her as hard as he could, hearing her moan under him. He pulled out quickly, grabbing her wrist and flipping her onto her stomach. “Hands and knees,” he panted out. She quickly complied and he re-entered her effortlessly, gripping her hips and began slamming into her from behind. This new angle hit her just right, forcing a knot to begin to form. She reached up, grabbing the bed frame to hold herself steady. Levi saw her knuckles begin to turn white, and he smirked, grabbing a hand full of her hair, pulling her up and reaching a hand around to her breast, gripping it. He felt her chest press farther into his hand as her back began arching, feeling her tightening around him as he rammed into her. He tugged her hair again and she released a loud moan. “Who do you belong to?” he asked into her ear, gripping her chest tightly. 

“You,” she breathed out through her moans. 

“I can’t hear you,” he grumbled, pulling her hair harder and she was forced to look up at the ceiling. “Who do you belong to?”

“I belong to you,” she said a little louder, feeling her release coming on and he smirked, quickening his pace even more. He moved forward, biting her shoulder blade as she released a pleasure filled cry, her hand flying behind her to grip his hair, pulling it and he groaned against her skin. His hand dragged across her chest as he moved from her breast to her neck, taking it tightly in hand and she released a whimper, her lips parting. “F-fuck, Levi,” she gasped out. 

The hand on her neck moved to her chin, forcing her head to the side and he collided his lips to hers, his tongue making its way into her mouth as he thrusted into her. He released her hair, allowing his hands to roam across her stomach, finding their way back to her breasts and gently taking hold of them. 

Levi bit into her neck again and that sent her. The feeling of her throbbing around him made him pull back from her neck. “Did you?” he asked, holding himself from release. She nodded and he pulled out. “On your knees,” he breathed, pointing to the ground, watching her nod and shakily do as she was told. Levi looked down at her red cheeks, smirking as he moved from the bed, standing in front of her. “Suck it,” he said, bringing his hand to the soft skin of her face, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. Her breathing was heavy as she looked from his face to his member. 

“No,” she said with a smirk, looking up at him. A glare came from him and her smirk only widened. She moved to her feet, quickly pushing him to sit on the bed, making him go wide eyed as he looked up at her. She moved closer to him, straddling his lap and she carefully took hold of his member, aligning her entrance and slowly sat on him. She watched as his eyes close and he clenched his jaw, holding back a moan while his hands slid up her thighs. They were moving around her waist to press her up against his chest, his hands holding her sides tightly as she rolled her hips on him, feeling him move deeper into her. She leaned down, her lips gently kissing his neck, making their way up to his ear. “I belong to you,” she whispered, biting his ear and he hissed slightly, his grip on her tightening even more, one hand moving to her butt. 

As he began guiding her hips more, he released a groan. “Such a good fucking girl,” he breathed out, his head falling back slightly and she put her hands on his shoulders, pushing him down onto his back. “Y-you need to get off,” he released, his head leaning back into the mattress more. “I’m going to finish any second,” he groaned out. His hands forced her off his hips and she put herself next to the bed on her knees, grabbing his wrist to pull him to sit up. She took him into her mouth, one hand on what didn’t fit, the other on his muscular thigh. His fingers laced through her hair, a low moan escaping his lips as he looked to the ceiling, feeling her mouth sucking him, bobbing as she went. “Is it fine for me to cum here?” he asked, not looking down at her as she just picked up the pace, forcing another moan to flow from his lips. 

Leena felt him twitching and kept her pace, the slightest bit of saltiness coming to her tongue before his hips bucked on their own, hitting the back of her throat and he involuntarily shot his seed there. Holding her still, he released his whole load into her mouth. As she felt his legs begin to relax, she gave him a few gentle bobs to finish him off completely before pulling away with a slight pop. His breathing was heavy and he hung his head, putting his elbows on his knees, sweat dripping down his chest and he looked at her, hair hanging in his face. He released an airy laugh, shaking his head slightly and leaned forward, taking her hair in his hands and placed a gentle kiss onto her forehead. 

Leena felt him pull away slightly, looking up at him as his eyes closed, resting his forehead against hers and her hands moved to his chest, moving up to his shoulders. Levi leaned in, placing a kiss on her lips, lingering for a few moments before pulling back. “How are you feeling?” he breathed out, reconnecting their foreheads. 

“Well,” she said, letting out an airy laugh. “I’m going to have a shitty time riding a horse tomorrow.”

He released a single laugh and nodded in understanding, pulling back to sit up straight before moving to his feet, moving from her towards the wardrobes behind her. She placed her hands on the bed, using it to push herself up to her feet. “We need to bathe,” he said, making her turn to see he had pulled on a pair of canvas pants and was grabbing a loose shirt and a skirt from her wardrobe. He moved to her, holding them out for her and she took them, carefully pulling them on, not bothering to put on undergarments. “You set a curfew for the recruits?” he asked, moving towards the window, looking out into the night for any sign of the lights in the barracks. 

“Yeah, they should all be sleeping by now,” Leena released, her breathing slowly returning to normal. 

“Alright,” he said nodding, turning and moving to her, placing a hand on her lower back. He pulled her towards the door and the two slipped their shoes on before they made their way through the halls. They made for the bath house, rinsing and washing separately before Levi called her into the spring. As she entered, he was standing with his back to the door, a towel around his hips, stretching slightly. She shut the door behind her and he lazily looked over his shoulder at her. “15 minutes then we head to bed, we’ll both need our rest for tomorrow.”

She nodded her head in understanding and carefully set down her towel as he dropped his own. Her feet collided with the wooden floor, moving to the water’s edge and went to pass Levi, trying to get to the opposite side of the spring. His eyes followed her and right before she got out of reach, he snagged her arm, pulling her into his chest. “What are you doing?” he asked boredly. 

She furrowed her brows “Moving to the other side?” she asked, looking at him in confusion as she thought that was painfully obvious.

He rolled his eyes and dipped down, lifting her from the ground like a bride and stepped down into the water. “Recruits are all asleep right? No ones going to come in.” His voice was monotone and pink spread across Leena’s cheeks as one of her hands met his chest. He carefully sat on the bench, the warm water engulfing Leena’s body as he released her legs, planting her left foot between his thighs and her right leg to lay across them, but his left arm was still wrapped around her, holding her to his chest, his hand on her thigh. 

Leena watched him lazily bring his right arm up, laying it across the back of the seat and leaned his head back. She was slightly stiff in her spot, not knowing what he would deem acceptable in this moment, but the fact he brought her to practically sit on his lap was already far beyond that. She was slightly leaning from him as she looked across the spring. ‘D-did I just lose my virginity to Levi Ackerman?’ she thought to herself. Though she never would tell him that, she never expected something like that to unfold. 

“It didn’t hurt too bad, right?” he asked, his voice a mere whisper. She shook her head a little, still not looking at him. “Good, “ he said, not moving in the slightest. “I’m told the first time can be painful for a woman.”

“W-what?” she practically shouted, looking at him, expecting to see some smirk or teasing glance, but there was none, his eyes were closed and she moved her gaze to the jaw line. “What makes you think this was my first time?” she asked, furrowing her brows.

He released a small sigh. “There was a bit of blood, I saw it towards the end.” His voice was quiet as he explained himself. Leena’s eyes widened and she looked away from him, feeling his hand leave her thigh and gently rest on her head, pulling her into the crook of his neck. She was stiff against him as his hand returned to her thigh and he gave her a quick kiss on forehead, his left arm moving to circle around her. “I wish you had told me,” he said. 

“Would you have done it?” she asked, expecting he wouldn’t have slept with her if he had known. 

“No,” he released, making her look at the water’s surface, slightly saddened. “I would have been more gentle. Less demanding,” he clarified and she furrowed her brows. His fingers slid into her wet hair, gently playing with the strands as his other hand massaged her shoulder. “Hopefully that didn’t ruin the experience for you.”

She shook her head a little, bringing her hand up to rest on his shoulder, water droplets running from her fingers down his skin. “I… enjoyed it, actually,” she said softly. 

“Yeah?” he asked, his hold on her head lessening and she pulled back to look at him, nodding . The smallest of smirks came to his lips and he leaned in, placing his lips against hers. Her hand moved from his shoulder to his jaw as she kissed him back, smiling softly. 

The kiss was sweet, gentle, something she never expected to come from the man she was with. It did, however, end abruptly as the door to the spring opened. She jumped back and tried to move from his grip but he held her in place, continuing to look down at her. She slowly turned her head, seeing a head of blond hair and fearful eyes staring at her. 

“L-Leena?” Armin squeaked out as he stared at the two. 

Levi snarled slightly, not even looking. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping, brat?” he asked loudly. 

Armin released a noise of fear as he brought a hand up, covering his eyes and turned his back to them. “I’m so sorry, Sir!” His voice was filled with fear and the bright red hue on Leena’s cheeks burned as she practically hid behind the man she was being forced to sit on. “I-I just-- couldn’t sleep so I wanted to relax, Sir!” 

“Then come relax,” Levi said boredly, his hand returning to Leena’s thigh. Armin didn’t move from his spot, awkwardly holding his towel around his waist, keeping his eyes covered. 

“Levi, do-”

“That’s an order,” Levi said, interrupting Leena. Armin was hesitant, slowly moving around the spring, looking anywhere but the captains. Leena didn’t look at him, embarrassment consuming her as Levi sat, unfazed. As Armin lowered himself into the water, discarding his towel and covering himself, his face was beet red as his eyes met Levi’s. “I think it goes without saying that this doesn’t leave the room,” Levi said, his glare tearing into the boy’s soul.

“I didn’t see anything, Sir!”

Levi raised a brow, bringing his hand up to take a strand of Leena’s hair between his fingers, looking down at her embarrassed expression. “You’re seeing it right now,” Levi challenged, looking back to the blond as he looked at Leena with terror. “Don’t look at her while she is indecent,” he said in a warning tone. Armin quickly looked away from the pair. “She may be your friend, but she is still your captain. I won’t give the warranted threat to your life you’re expecting, I just need your word.” Levi stared at the boy who gave a nod, doing everything in his power not to look in their direction. “We were never in this bath house, and neither were you. You were in bed by curfew, sleeping soundly in your bed. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes, Sir,” Armin said quickly. 

“And you will not breathe a word of this, to anyone, myself or Leena included, have I made myself clear?” 

“Y-yes, sir.”

Levi nodded. “Captain,” he said, looking down at Leena as she slowly brought her eyes up to look at him. “It’s time we take our leave.” The words left his mouth and he carefully removed her from his lap, setting her on the bench to let her cover herself. He pulled himself from the water, grabbing his towel and wrapping it around his waist before moving to get hers, plucking it from the floor and returning to the water’s edge. Leena watched him lean over the side and hold the towel between her and Armin like a wall. Leana stood, quickly taking the fabric and wrapping it around herself as he offered a hand to help her out. “Don’t be long,” Levi said, holding her hand tightly as he looked at Armin, the blond finally bringing his eyes to meet his. “We have a long journey in the morning.”

Armin gave a fear filled nod to the man and Leena looked at him, bright red cheeks. “I-I’m sorry you had to see this, Armin,’ she said quietly. 

Levi pulled her to his side as he turned to the door, leading her from the room. There was silence falling over them, Leena too embarrassed to even configure a form of conversation. The two quickly put on their clothes, silently moving together out of the bath house, through the courtyard and back to the main building, heading for their room. As they entered, Levi shut the door behind them, barring it and simply began removing his pants. “We need to sleep,” he muttered, pulling them down fully before putting them into his hamper. He began moving towards the bed, pulling the top blanket completely off the bed and moving past Leena to put it in the corner of the room. He raised a brow, looking at her as he passed by her again, heading towards the table and blowing out the candle that was lit. “Come on,” he released, moving back to the bed, naked and he quickly pulled the blankets back. 

Leena moved towards her hamper, slowly undressing while Levi laid down, putting a hand behind his head and covering his lower half with the blankets. “A-are we sharing the bed now?” she asked, putting the skirt into the hamper and crossing her arms over her chest as she turned to him. 

“Is that alright?” he asked, raising a brow. 

Leena sighed and slowly began moving towards him, carefully climbing to the bed beside him and pulling the covers over her. “We got caught… twice in one night.”

Levi sighed and shook his head. “Come here,” he said, outstretching the arm that was laying on his chest. She gave him a confused look and he rolled his eyes. He grabbed her by the elbow, pulling her to him, landing her head on his chest and he wrapped his arm around her. “It will be fine,” he released, feeling her slowly hug his chest and shift so she was laying on him more. “Erwin clearly didn’t care and your friend-”

“Armin.”

“Armin… is scared shitless,” he explained, intertwining his legs with hers. “No one has to find out if you don’t want them to.” he bent his neck slightly, leaning forward and giving her a kiss on top of her head. “We’ll just need to be more cautious next time.”

Next time?


	10. Beyond the Wall

The next morning, before the sun had the chance to rise, Levi was sitting up in bed, feet hanging over the side as he tiredly rubbed his face. That was the first time in a long while he actually had been able to sleep through the night and he groaned a little. He felt the bed shift behind him, Leena waking up to his noise and she tiredly looked up at him. “What’s wrong?” she asked sleepily and he looked back at her, a small smile forming on his face. 

“Nothing,” he said shaking his head and he leaned back over her, brushing her hair back before giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. “I just could hear the troupes outside, we need to get up.” Leena nodded her head tiredly, absentmindedly leaning up and placing a soft kiss on his lips. He looked down at her in the darkness, touching the side of her face. “You’re going to stay by me out there, right?” he asked, seeing her nod her head. “Good.”

She laid on her back, rubbing her face. “Do we need to get up like… right now?” she grumbled out. 

Levi gave a snicker. “Yes, if we do, we can have some tea before we leave.” Leena sighed and plopped her hands down at her side. “Come on, get up, brat,” he said, standing up from the bed and moving to the table, picking up the book of matches and quickly lit the candle, illuminating the room. Leena forced herself from the bed, moving to her wardrobe and quickly began pulling on her uniform. She pulled her harness on as Levi began getting ready. She finished buckling everything in place and pulled on her boots, tying them in place and stood tall, beginning to pull her hair back into its usual single braid. She eyed Levi as he began tying his cravat around his neck, his fingers carefully knotting it. The room was quiet, something both enjoyed in that moment, the open window letting a slight breeze come in. Leena dropped the braid down the center of her back and she moved to grab her ready bag, lifting off the ground as Levi did, holding their green cloaks in his hand and they made for the door, unbarring it and they went down towards the kitchen. 

The two drank their tea on opposite sides of the room, the squad not picking up any weird energy from the two, something Leena thought they would. She had been forced into a private meeting with Hange and Erwin, being given separate orders and instructions for Levi, which she relayed to him prior to leaving. Their journey to the wall was quiet among the horde and as Leena looked up at the stone structure from her horse, a smile came to her face. She looked to Eren, seeing his nervous expression. 

She gently reached her hand out, touching his shoulder and he looked at her. “It’s going to be fine,” she said, nodding her head. “I promise.”

“How are you so calm?” Eren asked, looking at her as Erwin led the way. 

Leena smiled softly. “Eren… this is my favorite place to be, beyond the wall, it's a different world. Just… keep the earth below your feet, alright? I’m not calm, I’m scared, and excited. Its alright to be nervous. Just know, we are here for you, okay?” she asked, her horse moving her to keep pace with the group. She made a gesture to the squad around them. “We are going to protect you.” 

“You’ll stay with me?” Eren asked, looking at her. 

“Till the end,” she said, smiling and nodding as they came to a halt. She looked forward, the support teams surrounding Levi’s Squad as a barrier for them to get through the City on the other side of the gate. “We have to be quick alright?” she asked, not looking at Eren as she saw the gate ahead of them. 

“Leena,” Levi said over his shoulder, tightly gripping his reins. “You’re last line of defence,” he said loudly. “My side.”

Leena grabbed her reigns tightly as well, flicking them slightly, his words a subtle reminder of their conversation that morning. The horse moved forward, stopping by Levi’s side and he offered her an emotionless glance, his jaw tightening. “It’s Erwin’s will,” she reminded quietly. 

He looked back ahead of them, seeing the gate was almost fully open. “Don’t get yourself killed.” The sound of Erwin’s bellowing shout filled the air and Leena flicked the reins of her horse, taking off in front of the Levi squad, them following about 20 feet behind. Eren watched from his horse as they moved through the gate, emerging into the destroyed city. “Watch closely, Jaeger,” Levi sounded, his eyes locked on Leena’s back and she rose a little so she was standing rather than sitting, her legs straight as she took one of her swords in hand. She released the reins, bringing her hand up and unlatching her cloak, letting it fly off behind her and Levi simply raised a hand, catching it with ease. 

As they emerged from the city gates, the formation began to form, riders breaking off into their assigned place. Leena’s job, as the last defence, was to ride ahead on her own, but remaining in view of the special operations squad. It was evident that there would be obstacles that may hide the presence of Titans, meaning there would more than likely be spottings every once in a while among the inner squadrents. Leena brought her rein holding hand up, pulling the black mask up around her nose, hiding her face. As well as this, she had been told that at the sign of the traitor, she was to be the one to take them down if they closed in on Eren. 

With keen eyes, she surveyed the land surrounding them, not seeing anyone on horses, meaning they were all in place. “I’m moving ahead!” she called over her shoulder, not waiting for a response and she took off at full speed, sheathing her sword as she went, gripping her reins with both hands. She was about 50 feet ahead, weaving between some trees and from the side, Levi saw a Titan burst from the side of a crumbling building at her. 

Eren screamed out her name as she jumped up, her feet on the horses back. She pulled her swords and used her gear, attaching to a tree on the left side. She was torn from the horse by her gear, maneuvering her way around the tree and looping back around, her horse slowing down. “Petra!” Leena screamed as she was launched up into the air, doing a backflip. Petra grabbed the reins of her horse as it met the squad, Eren watching Leena flip through the air again, soaring higher and as she made her descent, the sunlight caught her blade as she spun, the glare blinding him as she eliminated the threat. As she began falling, she used her gear to anchor into two trees, swinging down and using her fuel and gas to launch herself straight into the air.

Leena had a smile on her face as she flew. Her eyes following the ground as she did a lay out, detaching from the trees. A laugh involuntarily escaped her and as she got her feet back under her, her rising slowed, feeling like she was floating for the briefest second as she looked at the horizon ahead, the green trees and she could even see Erwin up in the front. The float feeling left, however, as her stomach lurched, her body starting to fall. 

Eren looked up as she fell, no one making an effort to jump and save her, instead, Levi swerved the group to the right, and Petra moved in front slightly, angling the horse at her side just right. When Leena was about 20 feet from the ground, her gear shot out to the sides, anchoring into the same trees as before and slowed herself as she landed on the horse’s back. Detaching the equipment, she sheathed the swords and took off to lead the group from 50 feet ahead again. 

Levi watched her closely. Other than that incident, their venture was uneventful. Leena felt the loose hair in her braid being removed from it, wiping her face slightly as she kept her pace. She looked to her right, seeing an array of green smoke signals and she quickly brought her hand down to the flare attached to her thigh, pulling it and skillfully loading a green cartridge. She aimed at the same angle as the others, pulling the trigger the same second Orou had before slamming the flare back into place. 

As she moved, a rider sped to her side, making Leena look at him. “Right wing spotters decimated!” he exclaimed, making her snarl and grunt. “Detection network partially out!”

Before he could ask her to pass the message to the left, she pulled her mask down under her chin and looked at him, making him go wide eyed. “I’m on direct orders from the commander,” she said angrily. “Pass the message on and then return to your post.”

“Y-yes Captain!” he exclaimed, falling back and moving behind her to head to the left wing. 

Leena gritted her teeth and harshly pulled back on the reins, coming to all but a complete stop and she waited about 10 seconds for the Special Operation Squad to reach her before instantly matching their pace. “Right wing has fallen,” she shouted, maneuvering to the right side of the squad and looking out. “Black signals,” she announced. 

“Eren. you fire it,” Levi ordered, making him jump. 

“Y-yes, Sir!” Eren shouted. 

“This is disgraceful,” Levi muttered at Leena’s side. 

“How could they have gotten this far into the formation this early?” Leena asked, keeping pace as Eren shot the black smoke signal. 

“Leena,” Eren called, fear in his voice. She didn’t look at him, the whole squad picking up their pace. “The right wing! That’s where Armi-”

“I know,” She shouted angrily. “I can’t disobey direct orders, Eren.”

Levi kept looking forward, riding hard. “Leena, move to the right, we need some sort of barrier over there!” Leena looked at him, seeing him gritting his teeth, his jaw tight. “20 meters, no further! I need to be able to see you, understand? We are redirecting our path, you stay parallel to us. Reconnect at the trees!”

Leena moved without a word, crossing in front of Eren and veering off to the right. “You’re sending her alone?” Eren shouted in disbelief. 

“The captain is more than capable of handling anything that comes our way,” Gunther shouted. 

Oluo nodded in agreement, keeping his eyes forward. “She has her own orders, you follow yours,” he shouted, the squad picking up their pace. 

Eren looked to his right, seeing glimpses of Leena through the trees as she kept pace, her head looking to the right as well, keeping an eye out for any incoming Titans. She rode hard, dodging trees as she went, and for the hell of it, she looked slightly behind her. Her eyes widened and her heart rate sped up. “Fuck,” she released. In a quick maneuver, she was out of the trees, moving at full speed to reach Levi’s side, seeing the forest up ahead. “We need to move, full speed,” she shouted at Levi and he simply nodded. The two took off, the squad in tow. 

Leena had her jaw clenched. She should have told them. Levi at least, but she was under the direct orders from Erwin, only she and Hange were allowed to know what was actually happening on this day. The fewer that knew, the less chance of word spreading through the platoon. She brought her mask up as they neared the forest, closing ranks more as they neared the entrance to the path. “Eren, you stay in the middle, do you understand?” she shouted, tightening her reins. 

Levi shot her a look, all she did was look straight ahead. They rode for about 20 minutes, Leena about 20 feet ahead of them, trying to catch any sign of the Commander’s plan. She was beginning to be angry. Hearing Eren question Levi behind her made her shake her head a little, knowing the man would have no information to offer. Finally she grunted, slowing to reach Levi’s side again. “It’s time to use your eyes to learn and hands to serve Eren, quit thinking so much, you have to learn to react on instinct!” she shouted, jumping into the air and using her gear to launch to the right, Levi grabbing her horse. Eren heard her war cry from the trees,and the sound of a large object slamming on to the forest floor. Ahead, he saw her reappear from the trees, spinning to face ahead of them and as she fell, Levi released her horse, letting her land on its back and maintain their speed. 

“Leena, do you know what’s going on?” Eren asked, furrowing his brows as she moved ahead again. “Leena!” he shouted, but she didn’t respond again. 

Levi furrowed his brows as she didn’t give them a second glance. “Leave her be, if she had something to say, she wouldn’t hold it back now,” Levi sounded, his voice harsh as he stared at her back. 

The sound of a flare being shot made Leena growl harshly. Levi ordered for his squad to draw their swords and Leena jumped onto the back of her horse, crouching on her sattle and in a quick movement, she spun around, facing them to keep a look for the Female Titan she saw earlier. Leena’s eyes met Levi’s and he nodded his head at her. Leena’s eyes moved to above them, seeing a scout come into view, his back to them, and in a second, he was smacked out of the air. “Now!” she screamed. 

“Move!” Levi commanded, the squad picking up pace and Leena managed to flick her reins, making her horse gain speed. 

Leena had yet to draw her swords, instead, she was leaning forward, waiting for something, and those who tore at full speed after her could tell something was going to happen. Above the squad, the Female Titan bursted from the trees, landing in a crouch behind them before rising to her feet, running after them. Leena watched reinforcements appear, but be eliminated just as quickly. Levi stared at Leena as his squad broke out into a panic, the woman ahead of him slowly shaking her head. 

Levi brought his hand down and for the first time since the Titan appeared, addressed his squad. “Everyone, cover your ears,” he ordered and Leena brought her hands up to do so, staring at him as he brought his flare gun up and took a shot, a blaring noise sounding through the air. 

Leena was looking to the sides of the squad in the trees, ignoring their banter as her eyes hunted for a sign. More and more reinforcements came, but Leena made no move. She heard Eren frantically crying out, those around her trying to get him to stop. “Eren!” she finally screamed, locking her eyes on him. “Shut the fuck up! If you want to die, then go ahead, transform!” she shouted, making him look at her. “It’s your choice! No one will stop you, but if you do this… you better pray you don’t regret it. We are here to protect you, so either do it, or let us do our fucking job!”

The rage in her voice made him stare at her with wide eyes, his teeth grazing his hand. “It’s your choice,” Levi said, nodding to Leena, showing she was doing good. “So hurry up and make a choice!” he shouted over his shoulder at the boy. 

Eren looked at everyone around him and his eyes landed on Leena. She pulled one of her swords, holding it out ahead of her. “I’ll go with you!” Eren screamed.

“She’s picking up speed,” Leena whispered, lifting her head to look at the titan as Levi looked at her. Her eyes darted to the side now and she finally saw it. “Keep moving!” she screamed, launching herself up in the air, pulling her second sword and used her gear to fly towards the female titan. 

“Leena!” Eren screamed as She began flying around the Titan’s head, grappling from tree to tree until she was forced to stop her pursuit. Oluo grabbed her horse in passing, all of them looking back, confused as to why she wasn’t attacking, rather just acting as a pesky fly. Leena huffed, knowing she needed to get her to take a single step back to be in the right position, so as she flew in front of the Titan’s face, she dragged her sword across her eye, forcing her to stomp as she took a step back. 

“Fire!” Erwin’s voice screamed and Leena shot straight up into the air, almost being shot down in the process. 

The sound of cannon fire ceased as Leena was in the air above the trees, seeing the horizon again and she did a layout as she detached her gear, letting her start to fall down towards the detained Titan. Her feet hit the back of the Titan’s head and she landed in a crouch. She looked over to Erwin’s direction, seeing Levi already at his side, the two speaking to each other from their respective branches. Her eyes moved to the scouts on the ground, all looking up with their swords drawn. 

“Leena!” Erwin called, making her look over to see him raising an arm. “Prepare for wave two!” Leena nodded and used her gear to pull herself to the branches the men were on, landing between them. Erwin called for fire, ordering for the use of their reserves, something Leena thought might not have been a good idea, but she didn’t question his order aloud. “Get to Hange, Leena, I’m sending Levi and Miche in for the extraction,” Erwin released, making her nod. “They’re down there,” he said, using his sword to point. 

Leena nodded and dropped down, grabbing branches as she went, being careful to not activate her gear and she did a flip, landing at Hange’s side. “How we doing, gorgeous?” Leena asked, sheathing her swords and pulling down her mask. 

Hange smirked, lifting their sword to point at the Titan. “As her wounds heal, her joints will become stiffer, she will be completely immobile.” Leena nodded and crouched down, resting her elbows on her knees. “She’s incredible.”

“For a traitor,” Leena offered, shaking her head. She watched Levi and Miche both move in, trying to get to the Titan’s nape, but as the sound of their swords shattering filled the air, she furrowed her brows, slowly standing. “The hell?” she breathed out, furrowing her brows. “S-she’s defending herself,” she said, looking to Hange who held an amazed expression. 

Leena looked to Levi who moved to the top of the Titan’s head and shook her own, looking to Erwin go gave her the signal to move back. “They gonna blast her?” Hange asked, putting their hand on their hips. 

“Seems so, probably gonna take out her hands,” Leena said. “We should probably get back.”

Hange nodded and they moved together, putting more distance between them and the Titan. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask, any developments between you and the captain?” they asked, eyeing her. 

“Now is not the time,” Leena warned, making a gesture to the Titan.

“Fine, but I’m taking that as a yes,” they said, snickering. Leena rolled her eyes, smirking as she looked back to the man on top of the creature. A blood curdling screech filled the air and Leena’s hands flew over her ears as the shock waves forced her to anchor her feet. The bellows continued and Leena looked at Hange. As the creature stopped her assault on their ears, Leena’s brows furrowed, her heart rate increasing and she widened her eyes. As the hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she began whipping around, looking in every direction and that’s when she realized, there was no way she could stop all of them. She grabbed Hange around the waist and pulled her sword, pulling both of them high into the trees. “What are you do-” they started but stopped as a horde of titans began charging through the trees underneath them, heading for the restrained humanoid. 

“They’re abnormals!” Leena screamed, looking towards the group of scouts, pulling up her mask. “Levi! Move! They’re going for her!” She pulled her second sword and moved in to fight along with her comrades. She was at Levi’s side in a second, the two effortlessly avoiding each other to ensure their own kills but seemed to dance around each other in their aerial assaults. 

The sound of Erwin’s voice boomed through the forest, calling for their withdrawal and retreat back to the Calaneth District. Leena looked away for a second, but in that moment of distraction, a blindly swung hand of a titan slammed into her, sending her flying through the air. “Leena!” Levi bellowed out as he saw her go flying. 

Her swords fell from her hands and she was soaring through the air, desperately trying to grab them. In a second, an arm was around her waist and as she looked up, she saw Hange’s profile. “I have her, Captain!” they shouted as they used one side of their gear to catch them on a tree, their legs connecting with its trunk. They pulled Leena on top of them, Leena straddling their hips as she desperately pulled her swords up to her hands by their cords. “Are you okay?” Hange asked, looking down at the woman sitting on top of them. 

“I’m fine,” Leena insisted, a grumble escaping her throat and she quickly used her gear to pull herself up, her feet connecting with the trunk and she had her body parallel to Hange’s. 

“Captain!” Erwin sounded, Leena looking around but not being able to catch sight of him. “Are you injured?”

“I’m fine!” Leena responded. “They grabbed me just in time!” Leena’s eyes went back to the horde of Titans, seeing them devour their target. “We lost,” she breathed out, shaking her head and looking down at Hange as they wiped sweat from their forehead. 

“We need to prepare for the retreat,” they said, their eyes locked on the skeleton of the female titan. 

Leena shook her head slightly. “I need to get a message to Erwin,” she said, looking around frantically. She saw the withdrawal signals going up, but she furrowed her brows seeing two green signals. “Hange, tell him. We saw the titan form get devoured, but not the traitor, they could still be out there, keep an eye out, alright?”

“What are you going to d- Leena!” Hange screamed as they watched Leena take off in the direction of the Green smoke signals. 

“Tell him, Hange!” Leena screamed, flying through the trees. Her ODM gear allowed her to tactically maneuver, soaring between the trees, inches from the ground at times and her fingertips lightly dragged through the dirt before she launched herself high into the air. The further she went, she heard shouting. She started moving even faster, and in front of her, she saw a blinding strike of gold lightening. “Fuck,” she shouted. The silhouettes of bodies in front of her proved she was right. The traitor escaped, and went right for Eren. She shot herself into the air above the bodies. “Get Eren out of here!” she screamed as she passed over them. 

“Leena!” Eren screamed after her as she moved to the ground. 

“Go!” she screamed, the sound of stomping filling the air. “Find Levi!” she moved to the side of the clear path the female Titan would take, getting behind a tree. She jumped up as she saw the remaining members of the squad fleeing. Her gear shot the anchors around the tree, flying across the path and landing in two trees. Leena planted her feet on the trunk, seeing the Titan running after Levi’s squad. Leena braced herself as the Titan tried to run past, but her ankles hit Leena’s trap, making her trip and fall forward as the girl released a deafening scream. Leena detached her gear and moved around quickly, jumping up and flipped, angling herself down towards the face down Titan, preparing her swords to swing. ‘I don’t have to kill you, just slow you down,’ she thought as she reached the ten feet mark. She released a war cry, swinging her sword but the Titan’s hand flew to the back of her, hardening. The sound of the metal shattering made her curse and activate her gear. She flew across the forest and looped back towards her. She made quick movements, spinning as she cut up her arms and sliced the side of her face. She went towards her feet, slitting her ankles and the Titan fell forward dropping to her knees. 

Leena anchored one side into a tree, flying past the Titan and in a second, a hand came up, colliding with her body. Leena released a bellow of pain, falling as her hands released her swords. Her cord caught her pulling her to fall towards a tree and she slammed into it, smacking her head. Eyes weakly opening, Leena saw the Titan slowly getting up and taking a few steps before breaking out into a run. Her vision began to blur, a blackness creating tunnel vision until all she saw was titan, upside down, fading from view and blackness taking over. 

For an hour, Leena had hung there unconscious, upside down, blood dripping from an open wound on her arm. Levi, however, when he reached the forest’s edge, was greeted by Hange, who was having a panic attack. They told him about Leena going after the traitor, somewhere in the woods, not returning with the rest. In that moment, Levi abandoned all reasoning. He forced them to pack everything, leaving him nothing but a horse and he abandoned his post. Hange and Erwin tried to stop him, but he refused to leave without finding her body. He had zipped through the forest, searching for any sign of her. For a half hour, he searched tirelessly and as he rounded a tree, he saw a tan color that didn’t seem to belong in the surroundings. His eyes widened, flying towards it and as he got closer, she came into complete view. 

“Leena,” he breathed out, landing on the ground in front of the tree. Her body dangled above him, her hanging hands just in his reach. He grabbed her swords and detached her gear, dropping the weapons to catch her as she fell. He dropped to his knees, looking down at her face, wiping the dirt, sweat and blood away from her cheeks, feeling the warmth of her skin. ‘She’s alive,’ he thought. “Leena,” he said loudly. “Leena, come on, wake up!” he exclaimed, desperately clutching her body to his. “You damned brat,” he breathed out, pulling away to look at her face. 

“Y-you could be nicer,” she weakly breathed out and his eyes widened. He watched as her eyes slowly opened them, looking up at him. He instantly leaned down, slamming his lips onto hers and she did what she could to kiss him back. As he pulled away, she started to slowly look around. “I-is he safe?” she asked, Levi bringing a hand behind her head to help support it. “I-is Eren alive?”

“They’re taking him to Calaneth,” Levi breathed out, staring at her. “I told you to stay by me,” he said quietly, shaking his head at her. 

“The traitor,” she groaned out, shifting in his hold. “They were going after Eren. I had… to slow them down.” 

“Whether that’s what saved him or not, Mikasa and I got there just in time,” he said, nodding his head. He looked up and around, trying to see any sign of a titan. “We need to get out of here, can you walk?” he asked, putting her swords in their sheathes.

“I don’t think so.”

He nodded his head and carefully lifted her from the ground. He wrapped her arms around his neck, holding her chest to chest with one arm. Leena held on as best she could as he used his gear to get them to the forest edge. He landed on his feet, eyes wide to see the scouts were still there, waiting for them, but also collecting the bodies. 

“L-Levi?” a voice called, making his turn his head, sheathing his swords and scooping Leena up like a bride, letting her rest her head in the crook of his neck. Hange began running over to him, looking down at him as they met. “S-She’s alive?” they asked in disbelief. 

Leena pulled her head from him, looking at her friend with a pained expression. “L-Levi, I can take it… from here,” she groaned out, slowly bringing her hands to rest on his chest, slightly pushing him. He gently put her on the ground and she reached a hand out to Hange. They extended an arm for her to take and she looked up at them. “Take me to Eren,” she breathed out and Hange nodded. “I just need to see him.”

“I’ll go find my squad,” Levi said, nodding his head. 

“Levi,” Hange released softly but he was already walking away. 

Leena looked up at them, furrowing her brows. “What’s wrong?” she asked and Hange looked down at her.


	11. The Retreat

“We found them earlier,” Hange said, carefully guiding her to a wagon. “Leena… they didn’t make it.” Leena looked down at the unconscious boy as she reached him, touching his face gently but tears began to brim her eyes as she looked to the direction Levi was, seeing a scout hesitantly leading him to a line of covered bodies. “H-he’s never lost a squad,” they said quietly. 

“He’s going to need someone,” a voice said, making the teary eyed girl turn her head to see Erwin. “He went back for you, you know? Disobeyed my direct orders… I thought you might have died, so we would find you as we combed for bodies.” He was staring at Levi’s back as he stood alone, looking at the line. 

Leena’s touch on Eren’s face and Hange’s arm faded as she took shaky steps towards Levi, watching as he crouched down beside one of the bodies. Two of the closest friends she had, left her to die in the woods by herself, and yet, a man she barely knew came back to find her. Her steps were slow, shaky even as she drew closer. The setting sun gave a golden hue to their surroundings and as she reached his side, she slowly moved to her knees beside him, reaching out and taking his hand in hers as it hesitantly hovered over the emblem of the Survey Corps. Her bloody hand on his made him turn his head to look at her, seeing the tears pouring down her cheeks as she pulled a dagger from the holster on her back. 

“Leena,” he said quietly, trying to hide the pain in his voice.

“You shouldn’t have to do this alone,” she whispered back, looking at him. “I’m not going to let you.” Levi stared at her, feeling her interlock their fingers and he gripped her tightly. “It doesn’t get easier,” she said softly, staring into his eyes. “And bearing it alone is the worst feeling in the world. Losing people we love… it changes us… and not always for the better.” Leena saw the slightest bit of tears coming to his eyes and she placed her dagger on her knee, bringing a hand up and touching his face gently. “We can do this… Together.” He hesitantly leaned his face into her touch and she tried to smile for him. “What do we need to do?” she asked softly. 

Levi stared at her for a moment, and he realized there was a reason for all his feelings for her. Leena was like him. A leader, a fighter, someone who knows loss, but even after all their similarities, the stark difference was she still had the ability to find the humor in things, the beauty and fun in terrible moments, something he was slowly learning every day he spent in her presence. She had the ability to brighten the room, yet not forfeit her power. She was proof that maturity and empathy don’t come with age or time, but with the pain one has gone through. 

His eyes remained on hers, taking them in and he brought a hand to her cheek, mimicking the action she had just preformed but wiped away her tears. “I want the badges,” he whispered, slowly forcing himself to look from her back to the bodies, dropping his hand from her face but kept a firm grip on her hand. 

She nodded her head, taking her dagger from her knee and leaning forward, carefully beginning to cut one free as Levi released her, moving further down the line, doing the same. Once they were done, Levi made his way to her, offering her his hands and pulled her to her feet. “Do you need help walking?” he asked softly, letting go of her hands. She shook her head and he nodded as she offered him his squad’s patches. “Alright,” he said. “You’ll ride with me, I’ll go find Erwin and see what the plan is. Check on your friends.”

Leena nodded her head and watched him slightly look around, making her furrow her brows. He nodded and dipped his head down, giving her a brief and gentle kiss before turning and walking away from her. 

  
  


Leena ended up being able to ride on her own, but her spot was planted between Erwin and Levi at the front of the formation. Their main priority was to reach Calaneth. She was feeling better by the minute, the sun set behind them, her head less foggy, energy returning to her. Her eyes locked on to something in the sky however, a red smoke flare flying ahead of them. 

“Titans spotted in the rear,” she announced, reaching for her mask and pulling it up around her mouth. 

“Full speed!” Erwin announced and Leena flicked the reins, the entire formation’s speed increasing instantly. 

“I don’t see any large trees or buildings,” Levi said, eyeing Leena’s hands. “We can’t fight freely out here.”

Erwin kept his eyes locked on their path. “Fleeing to the wall will be quicker.”

“They’re going to catch up and wipe half our men out if we don’t do something,” Leena released, hopping up so she was crouching on her horse’s back. “If you’ll do nothing, I’m going.”

Levi huffed. “You were knocked unconscious not two hours ago, you aren’t going.”

“If no one else will, I don’t have a choice,” she said, turning around to see four Titans chasing after the Platoon. 

“Absolutely no-”

“How many men did we lose today?” she asked loudly, her eyes locked on her target. “We don’t have the luxury of large numbers, nor will I sit back and watch them die. Do not let your feelings cloud your judgement, Levi.”

“Leena, go,” Erwin sounded, making her grip the reins. 

“Move!” she screamed, yanking her reins and making her horse come to a full stop. Those behind her parted, giving her a clear path. As scouts passed by, staring as they went, Leena had her eyes locked on the in coming titans. Her eyes moved down, seeing the wagon Eren was on, meaning Mikasa was close by. “Mikasa, with me!” she demanded, turning on her horse and taking off towards the back of the pack, Mikasa following. “I’m still weak, I need your help, alright?” she asked loudly. 

Mikasa nodded her head, seeing one of the scouts being snatched out of the air about to be eaten. “I’ve got him!” she exclaimed. 

Leena bolted past that Titan, moving towards the ones in the back. She jumped off her horse, activating her gear and attaching it to the shoulder of one of them. She went up over the beast, dodging its snapping jaws and looped around, dragging her blade across the back of its neck, detaching her anchors in the process and flying at the second, doing a fast, spinning maneuver to cut the seconds as she passed by. As she fell, she found a tree, though small, it would be enough to slow her fall. She attached to it, her horse rounding the bodies and coming after her. 

With a quick loop around the tree, her feet connected with the ground and she took off running at the in coming horse, jumping up and grabbing the reins as it passed her, hurling itself onto its back and taking off towards the rear again. However, she had to stand slightly and her horse jumped over a scout's corpse, wrapped in a blanket. Her eyes widened as she realized they were tossing the bodies to lighten the load on the carriages. She veered off to the side, hiding herself in a small line of trees as she flew past the Titan that was now distracted. As she neared the front of the group, she moved back into view, pulling her mask down as she reached Erwin’s side. 

“We’re clear but we need to keep moving,” she declared and he nodded his head, yet Levi was no where to be seen. 

  
  
  


The group had made a stop, Leena sitting on the ground and she needed a break. She waved off those who came to check on her, Hange and Erwin included. She knew they needed to correct their course to the east, so she was just waiting until they made that move. “Captain,” a voice rang, making her lazily look up and the rookies go wide eyed, seeing Levi sitting on his horse, staring down at her with a hard expression. “I need to speak to you.”

“Right now?” she asked, making a lazy gesture. 

“Right now,” he said, making her groan and get off the ground. She hopped onto her horse, moving beside him and the two left the group and as they moved behind a row of trees, Levi slowly got down. 

Leena watched his pained expression and she got down. “Are you hurt?” she asked, furrowing her brows. 

“Not what we are talking about,” he said, making a hand gesture. “You- don’t you dare tell me to not let feelings get the better of me,” he said, looking down at her and she shook her head in disbelief. He tossed a badge to her, making her fumble to catch it. “I don’t care, if its your tough Captain act, or if you truly meant it, do not ever say that to me again.”

“Why are you letting it bother you so much?” she asked, furrowing her brows and looking down at the badge. 

“I thought you were dead, not hours ago,” he said, looking at her in rage. “Whatever entity that has kindness, gifted me with more time. You are a selfless person, Leena, but that also means you do not hesitate to risk your life at every turn. I just lost my squad, forgive me if I’m not looking to lose you too.” his voice was filled with anger as he pointed at her, shifting slightly from the pain in his leg. “Those badges?” he asked, pulling it from her hands. “I take them to give to the families of those who lost a loved one. I have to cut them off the bodies of those who died fighting for humanity. I don’t think I’ll be able to cut one from your corpse too.” he shoved the badge into his pocket with the others, climbing back onto his horse. “You want to do this together, we can’t if you end up dead.” 

Leena turned and watched as he rode off, her jaw clenched as she looked to the ground. 

  
  


Leena didn’t speak to anyone for the rest of their journey to the wall, and as they made it inside the city, she brought her mask up over her face, ignoring those who shouted to her, some in admiration, but most criticizing them for their failed efforts. Her head was high but her mask concealed every emotion she was feeling, the loss, anger, hatred. As a man grabbed her forearm, pulling her from her horse, she did a forward roll away from him, cheering erupting from the on looker.

Though there were some who respected her as a scouts captain, the majority had nothing but hatred for her in particular. Her poor temper was no secret, and many knew her due to the multitude of missions she took over the wall. This morning, she had an army to hide her, but now, she knew she was on her own. 

Her eyes watched them as she was resting on a knee, looking at them. The crowd was deafening as they shouted their insults at her, and she almost wished she hadn’t gone ahead of the rest of the scouts. Out of breath, she slowly lowered her head and a man delivered a kick to her stomach, landing her on her back. She brought a hand up, pulling her mask down drowning in the sound of hatred that flowed through the civilians. 

“Shit,” A voice sounded. Multiple sets of feet closing in.

Leena held in all the rage she was feeling, trying to kill it before she did something she would regret. But as their shouts got louder, her jaw clenched, hearing the arguing surrounding her. In a quick movement, her swords were cutting through the air as she spun them in her hands, forcing the crowd to back away and the tip of her sword landed an inch away from the neck of who kicked her. “You were the one who kicked me?” she asked, glaring at him. 

“Leena, stop this,” Erwin sounded, standing behind her. 

She made no effort to put her sword away as she stared at the civilian, tilting her head and he put his hands up in fear. “Ever seen a Titan?” she asked and he began breathing rapidly. “Every killed one? Have you ever taken a life?” she asked, staring down her blade at him. “Have you ever lost a close friend? A comrade you trust above all others?” she boomed, her anger ringing through the silent street. “Have you seen someone get ripped in half by the jaws of a Titan? No. you haven’t. You hide behind your walls knowing damn well they won’t hold, waiting for death and ridiculing those who fight for you!”

“Leena,” Hange sounded. 

“You don’t get to judge me until you hold your dying friend in your arms as she forfeits her life trying to save yours,” Leena said, shaking her head. “Until you take a stand, you don’t get to give your input on this. If we weren’t needed, we wouldn’t have a branch in the military, who do you think has been moving beyond the wall to try and lessen their forces? Not your precious military police, I’ll tell you that much.”

“Put your damn swords away,” Levi said through gritted teeth, making Leena clench her own. “Now, Leena.” Leena held her gaze on the man, slowly lowering her swords and as they met her sides, she held them lazily in her fingers, leaning back and raising her chin.

Levi moved in now, ripping the swords from her hands as Erwin made his way to her, blocking her view of the man while undoing her gear from her waist. He tossed it to Hange and in a swift movement, lifted the girl from the ground, hoisting her over his shoulder as she flailed, trying to break free from his grip. Citizens no longer criticized them, instead they watched as the commander of the Scouts carried the raging captain through the streets, his expression holding a look of annoyance and anger as he led the troupe back to HQ. 

  
  


Leena sat on the table, sitting in her pants and under shirt as Hange stood at her side, wrapping her wounded arm in hopes to stop any infection from coming. Erwin was pacing in front of her while Levi sat in a chair in the corner of the room.

“They ripped me from my horse and kicked me,” Leena finally said through gritted teeth, wincing as Hange applied pressure to her cut. “I wasn’t just going to allow them to beat me in the street.”

“That’s not the issue here, Leena,” Erwin said, finally looking to her, clenching his jaw. “You deliberately disobeyed me. You do understand you’re still technically on a form of probation, don’t you?”

“Oh whatever,” she said with an eye roll. “They aren’t going to do anything.”

“No,” Levi said, staring at her with furrowed brows. “You just got off a death sentence, this is a serious issue. You were literally accused of being dangerous and unpredictable and you proved that today in the center of a group of civilians. You do understand how much trouble you might be in if the military police find out, don’t you?”

“How is me defending myself from attackers my fault?” she asked, staring at him in disbelief. “That’s not unpredictable, that’s justified. What, should I just allow grown men to try and beat me?” In this moment, she couldn’t see the issue for her actions. She was attacked, why would she not protect herself. “You’re complaining about me constantly putting myself in danger but the minute I try to save myself I get in more trouble?” 

“Leena, you don’t unders-”

“What don’t I understand, Levi?” she asked. “Rather than focusing on me almost getting into a fight, shouldn’t we be discussing our next course of action? Today proved there is infact a traitor among us, and they slipped right through our fucking fingers!” she shouted, standing up and ripping her arm away from Hange. “What’s the fucking plan there, Erwin?” she shouted. “I can’t do anything to fix this if I’m dead and no matter where I go, I have a fucking target on my back, so what do you want me to do? Tell me what you want because if me acting on my own is just going to result in this bullshit, then I’m out.” her eyes moved to each person in the room. “I’m done with this shit, if you don’t trust me enough to let me act on my own… then do it yourselves,” she muttered, shaking her head slightly. 

Hange furrowed their brows at her, shaking their head and removing themself from their seated position. “Do you honestly think… that you’re the only one with a target on their back?” they asked, making Leena slowly turn to look at them. “Our entire Regiment has all eyes on us, you do understand that, right?” they asked. Leena’s eyes went wide as they approached, grabbing the top of her under shirt, balling it in their fist. “We are all tip toing around fucking glass, except for you!” they shouted at her. 

“Hange-”

“No, Erwin!” they shouted, looking at him with an angry expression. As they looked down at Leena’s shocked face, they lifted her from the ground by her shirt. “Is a fucking execution ruling not enough for you to understand you need to cut your bullshit? You’re going to get yourself killed! You aren’t some heartless asshole, so drop the performance before we can’t save your ass anymore!” their screaming at her was something Leena had never experienced from them, at least directed at her. “Do either of you have anything to add?” they asked, looking between the two men in the room. 

“I think you hit the nail on the head,” Levi muttered, sitting back in his seat, crossing his arms and looking at the woman in Hange’s clutches. “Do you get it now? We aren’t yelling at you for fun. We’re trying to make you understand we can’t afford to lose you.”

Hange clenched their jaw as they stared down at Leena. “You need to stop while you’re ahead. We love you too much for you to throw your life away like it’s nothing.”

Leena stared daggers at them and Hange forcefully put her back on the ground. Erwin was looking at the ground when she turned to him. She wanted him to say something, defend her like he always had, but he showed no sign of disagreeing with the sentiment thrown into that room. She looked to Levi who simply stared at her, he felt bad they had all just ganged up on her, but he also knew she needed to hear it. She shook her head in disbelief, moving and grabbing her jacket and white shirt from the table. 

Erwin sighed a little. “Take a walk, Leena. Come find one of us when you’re ready to discuss this calmly.” 

Leena clenched her jaw, heading for the door. “No promises,” she snapped, opening the door and stepping out before slamming it closed. “I’m not some murderer,” she growled, moving through the halls, her anger making her seem even more powerful as she passed new recruits. She rounded a corner and made her way quickly to the barracks, hoping to find an empty room she could try and cool off in. 

“Leena!” She heard Armin call. 

“Not now,” she snapped immediately, moving further from him. She didn’t realize he was with a group of people as she also couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. 

Leena moved through the barracks, but found no empty room. She grumbled slightly, deciding that she would do as Erwin had suggested, take a walk. She pulled her shirt back over her head and moved outside HQ, searching for the carriage that held her bag she had packed earlier in the day. When she finally found it, she shoved her hand in, grabbing a pair of pants and her wallet.

Eyes on the hunt for anyone who might see her, she kicked off her boots and quickly removed her pants, her harness and gear with her bag already. Her eyes looked around rapidly as she pulled the fresh pair up, quickly pulling her boots on and she shoved her dirty pants into her bag. She wanted to look like a normal citizen, so she ditched her jacket and mask as well. She pulled her hair from her braided as she began her journey, aimlessly walking through the city. 

As her feet connected with the cobblestone, she was forced to think about what everyone had been telling her, not just in that room, but in private as well. Was she truly being self destructive? Was her fits of anger going to get her killed? Was everyone truly on what could only be described as Leena watch to make sure she didn’t do something so stupid they couldn’t fix it?

Her thumb went up to her mouth, her teeth gnawing at her nail. She had been walking for about 20 minutes and as she raised her gaze, Leena saw the sign to a pub. Before she even realized, she was walking inside and up to the bartender, pulling out her wallet. She grabbed an empty stool, plopping herself onto it and ordered herself a drink. 

One drink turned to two, then four, and after an hour, she was 8 drinks in on an empty stomach and low blood content from her injury earlier in the day. As men came and tried to hit on her, she didn’t even look at them as she offered them a middle finger. She was sipping her drink, planning on making it the last one when a body sat beside her. Leena tried not to acknowledge them, but as the large man order her a round, she raised a brow and looked up at him before releasing a groan. 

“Nice to see you too,” Erwin said, not even looking at her as he slid money onto the counter. 

Leena rolled her eyes and put her elbows up on the wood surface, resting her head in her hands. “How did you e-even find me?” She grunted out, not looking at him. 

Erwin shrugged as he accepted the drinks and slid her some ale. “Told you to go for a walk, you usually get drunk after a mission, bad ones especially.” He brought his drink up to his lips as she slapped her hand against the bar and took the pint in her hand. He set his down as she brought hers up, looking at her for the first time. “Took a few tries to find the right pub though.” 

Leena took a gulp and made a face as she set her drink down. “Yeah, well, figured I needed to cool off before getting trashed.” 

“Yeah?” He asked, looking down at the drink between his hands. 

Leena stared at the liquid in front of her and shook her head a little. “No… if I’m being honest, my feet just kind of brought me here.” 

Erwin nodded his head in understanding. “So… what actually happened?” He asked before bringing his drink up. “Captain Levi mentioned something about an altercation but didn’t go into detail.” 

Leena grunted and took a few large gulps. “I pissed him off, he reprimanded me, and then I got attacked, simple as that.” 

“No it’s not,” Erwin egged, taking a drink.

Neither looked at each other. Erwin was trying to ease her into a conversation about her feelings, knowing her drunk was probably the only time he’d get straight answers. Leena rolled her eyes, even drunk she knew what he was trying to do. “This is technically minishpliation,” she muttered out. 

Erwin clenched his jaw, trying not to laugh. “Minishplation?” 

“Is that not a word?” She asked, finally looking at him and furrowing her brows. “It’s not, is it?”

Erwin raised a brow. “Do you mean manipulation?” 

Her eyes went wide with embarrassment. “Fuck,” she dragged out, leaning her head back.

Erwin stifled a laugh and shook his head. “How many have you had?” He asked, watching her down the rest of her pint. 

“Nine,” she said, making a face and shaking her empty cup.

Erwin made a disapproving face. “Nine?” He asked in disbelief.

“Nine,” the bartender stated, nodding his head as he cleaned a cup. “Was about to cut her off, actually.”

“No one asked you,” Leena said, lazily pointing a finger at him. 

“My sincerest apologies,” Erwin released shaking his head and standing up. “I’ll be taking her home now, how much does she owe?” He asked pulling out his wallet.

“I can pay for my own drink,” Leena slurred, fumbling her wallet between her hands. Erwin smacked it out of her hand, not even looking at her as he eyed the bartender who gave him a number. “Fuck you,” she grumbled, clumsily hopping off her stool and bending forward, reaching for her wallet, missing twice before she managed to grab it. “Quit being a dick, I can pay myself!” She shouted, trying to smack the money out of his hand and he just stiff armed her. “I swear to fuck!” She shouted.

“Thank you, sir,” Erwin said, nodding before he quickly ducked down, landing his shoulder between her legs and grabbed her wrist with his opposite hand, hoisting her up over his shoulders. “Have a nice night.”

Leena released a noise of pain as he started walking, each step he took shaking her and making her nauseous. “I’m not a rag doll!” She exclaimed, bringing her free hand to her mouth to try and stop herself from throwing up. As Erwin stepped out into the street, he began walking towards HQ. “Seriously, Erwin, I’m about to throw up on you.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” he said with a sigh, making no effort to put her down. “So, ready to talk?” He asked. 

“Was your plan to get me drunk?” She asked, putting her hand on his shoulder and pushed her self up a little so he wasn’t putting pressure on her stomach. 

“Yes,” he said simply. “So, why was Levi upset with you?” He asked, keeping his eyes locked on the path ahead of them. 

“I made a comment earlier that he didn’t like,” she said, her tone childish, mocking the absent captain. “Like get fucked, I wasn’t wrong.”

“What comment?”

Leena huffed. “When we were being followed by the Titans, I told him to not let his feelings get the better of him, remember?” 

Erwin furrowed his brows but nodded. “Yes… I figured that would have upset him.” 

“But like why?” She asked, lazily shifting on his shoulder. “It’s not like I was saying he had feelings towards me, he just lost his team, he was all confuffled.” 

“Not a word.”

“You know what I mean.”

Erwin sighed. “Have you considered it’s because he does have feelings for you?” Leena rolled her eyes and Erwin must have sensed it. “Leena, believe it or not, he does, that much is evident. When you left, he went to go check on you. When he returned, he was in a complete panic because you weren’t in the barracks.”

“I’m not his problem anymore,” Leena released shaking her head. “He already turned in the report, he’s not gonna get in trouble for me dicking around.”

“Not the point I was trying to make.” Erwin shook his head a little, looking around. “Levi is well aware of the current status of your ranking, as well as his own. It has nothing to do with whether or not he’s going to get into trouble. He’s worried about you.” 

“Whatever,” Leena released with an eye roll. “He doesn’t care all that much, I promise you that. He got what he wanted so he’ll move on.”

Erwin furrowed his brows now. “Leena… I’m not sure what kind of man you believe Levi to be, but he isn’t just going to move on.” 

“He’s a player and we both know it,” Leena retorted, allowing herself to hang fully but instantly regretted it. “What, you’re telling me you have feelings for every person you’ve fucked?” She asked.

“I think you overestimate the number of women I’ve slept with,” Erwin said, shaking his head. “And I’m going to choose to ignore that you just outed the two of you. Leena, he wouldn’t have done those with you if he didn’t have feelings for you.” Leena released a huff and he shook his head again, turning down an alley. “He’s not that type of man.”

“He literally told me he was,” Leena said with a laugh. 

Erwin shook his head. “Leena, you don’t understand. I have never seen him accept a woman that has offered herself to him. Sure there were three I had met, but that was after months of them seeing each other. Other than them, he had no others.”

“What?” Leena asked, her head swaying slightly as they moved. 

“He isn’t the type to look for a short interaction,” Erwin said, slowing to a stop. “Are you sober enough to stand on your own?” He asked.

“I mean pro-“

“You found her?” A voice called, cutting her off. 

Leena brought her head lazily to look ahead of them, seeing a man forcing himself to his feet on the front steps of Head Quarters. Erwin nodding, walking towards him. “She always goes for drinks after a mission,” he explained. “Bad ones especially.”

Erwin carefully set her down, catching her as she immediately stumbled. Leena leaned forward, her head spinning as she put her hands on her knees, Erwin putting a hand on her back. “Fuck,” she drew out, clenching her eyes shut. “I told you it was making me sick.”

“Well, offer me an alternative that would have gotten you back,” Erwin challenged and she offered him a middle finger. 

“Are you alright?” The man asked, making her look up at him. 

“I’m fine,” she released, dropping her head. “Seriously Levi, relax, I’m not your responabolity any more.”

“Not a word,” Erwin released, shaking his head. 

“Fuck off,” Leena said, shaking her head a little.

“She’s done that three times,” Erwin said in a monotone voice. 

“I much prefer when you faked being worried,” she slurred out, wiggling slightly as she shook her head. 

“Thank you, Erwin,” Levi said, looking up to the man. “Could you help bring her to my room? From there I’ll take care of this.”

“Oh no I’m in trouble,” Leena mocked but released a loud “Hulg!” As Erwin lifted her off the ground. “Fucking hell!” She shouted.


	12. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW warning!!

Leena was tossed onto a bed, her body bouncing as she released a groan. Levi stepped outside with Erwin, the two talking briefly. The blond took the chance to explain Leena’s words on their walk back and Levi shook his head, looking at the door as he listened to her best friend explain what she believed the situation was. He made note that she was drunk but couldn’t shake the idea of this being what she actually believed.

Levi walked back inside, stiff of course due to his injured leg, and when he looked up, he saw the girl covering her eyes with her forearm, groaning. He shook his head slightly, bringing a hand up to unbutton his suit jacket, pulling it off from his shoulders. “Do you feel stupid yet?” He asked, not facing her as he hung the garment on the back of a chair. 

“Shut up,” Leena shot back, pulling her hand away. “The rooms spinning,” she released, clenching her teeth. She was trying incredibly hard to keep her phrases short, trying to hide just how drunk she was. 

Levi lazily looked to her, grabbing a chair in passing as he made his way to the bedside. “So… we need to have a discussion.”

“I really don’t ne-“ she began, cutting off her words with a hiccup. “Need a lecture on alcoholism.” Her words were airy as her eyes locked onto a spot on the wall, forcing herself into a sitting position. She leaned back against the headboard of the bed, her head swaying as she stared ahead of her.

“No,” he said, shaking his head. He sighed a bit, leaning forward and slowly took her hand in his. Her eyes shot to the back of his knuckles as his eyes bore into the side of her face. “Something else.” 

Leena looked up at his face, her eyes half lidded but due to her brows being knitted together, he knew she was confused. “What are you-“

“Leena.” Levi stared at her, seeing her pink cheeks deepen to a red. “I don’t think you understand exactly what’s going on.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

Levi sighed a little. “I wasn’t completely honest to you,” he said, shaking his head. “There’s a reason you’ve never seen me bring a woman around… yes, I do try to keep that part of my life separate from work, but, it’s not because I engage in emotionless sex.” 

Leena’s eyes went wide as he spoke. “We really don’t need to tal-“

“Yes we do,” Levi said, cutting her off. “You believe that what we did was just sex on my end. Am I wrong?” Levi stared at her, waiting for her to deny or confirm this accusation, but she stood completely still, panic spreading across her face. “It wasn’t just sex,” he said, his voice softer than she had ever heard and he looked away from her face. “When you left earlier… I felt so guilty for not sticking up for you in the moment. I wanted to defend you, and your actions, because as you said, you were just defending yourself. However, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Just a month ago, you were standing in front of a jury, execution being the only option.”

Leena was holding her breath, not being able to fathom what was actually happening. “When I found you in the forest… I thought you were dead, and it made me sick. I was terrified that I had lost you.” His words were sinking in, but what he divulged was carefully chosen. “I thought I lost you.” It wasn’t about humanity, or the scouts, or their friends. He was the one that was losing something. “When you told me not to let my feelings get in the way… I was mad, because my feelings had been what guided me to find you, not orders, or my morals.”

“Levi, I didn’t mean-“

“I know,” he said, nodding. “I… just didn’t think I’d have to say it for you to know.” 

Leena furrowed her brows, staring at him. “I’m sorry, I’m really drunk, what is happening?”

“You aren’t a court order to me,” he said quietly, looking into her eyes. “Or my responsibility. I’ve been forced to be around you, but it didn’t take me long to enjoy it. And I wouldn’t have offered to take you in if I didn’t want you with me.” Leena’s face was heating up even more now, her heart beginning to race. “Despite everything we’re going through, I deeply care about you.” 

“L-like as a friend?” She stuttered out, staring at him. 

“Not exactly,” he huffed, his face contorting in disbelief. “I apologize for not saying it sooner, but I assumed it was obvious. It was to everyone else.” 

“I’m going to be sick,” she said, pulling her hand from him and covering her mouth, frantically pointing to the trash can. Levi shot up straight in panic, lurching to grab it. She leaned over the side of the bed as he set it down for her. She instantly threw up, Levi’s hands moving to pull her hair back. “I swear this isn’t because of what you said.”

“I know,” he said, holding her hair in one hand and rubbing her back gently. “Do you need water?” He asked as she got sick again. As she nodded her head, he sighed, tucking her hair into the back of her shirt to keep it out of her face, standing up and turning away from her, exiting the room. 

Leena was left alone for a few minutes, and by the time he had come back, she had gotten sick four more times. Due to the rapid expulsion of alcohol, she was feeling a little better, sitting up slowly on the bed. “I regret my decisions,” she said, making a defeated face as she nodded her head. Levi released the smallest of chuckles, causing her to shift her attention to him fully. His expression made her brows knit together, “What the fuck are you snickering about?” 

“You,” he said airily, shaking his head. 

Leena eyed him, seeing the corners of his mouth slightly pull up and she raised a brow. “Wait, you actually know how to smile?” 

“Apparently someone’s feeling better.” His smile fading to the familiar smirk he always seemed to be wearing around her. “Vomiting do the trick?”

“Eat shit,” she said with an eye roll. “I miscalculated. I love how this went from you being all comforting to being a dick.” 

“Well, you did just throw up to the sound of me confessing my feelings for you,” he jested, moving towards the chair by the bed and sitting down in front of her. She brought her legs up, sitting on them as her fingers gripped the edge of the mattress, her head hanging slightly as she swayed. “How are you feeling?” he asked softly. 

“Less nauseous and only heavily tispy,” she said, bringing her head to look at him as he leaned towards her. 

Levi surveyed her face, a small smile coming to his lips, “You stink.”

“I love this offensive banter we have going,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her words. 

Levi snickered, pulling himself from the chair. “Come on,” he said, reaching a hand out for her. The confusion on her face made him roll her eyes, “If you’re staying here, you need to bathe. I’ll help you.”

“I don’t need your help bathing,” she released, a pink hue coming onto her cheeks. 

Levi rolled his eyes. “I help Hange all the time, its nothing, come on.”

“Who said I’m staying here?” she asked. 

“Well, I’m not letting you go anywhere else,” he stated, leaning forward and grabbing her wrist. She was forced to get her legs under her, stumbling slightly as she fell into him. Levi gritted his teeth as he put more pressure on his ankle, his arms wrapping around her waist as she looked at his chest. “Are you alright?” he asked, hooking his finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. 

“Yeah,” she said, her voice soft, “Levi.”

“Yes?” he responded, furrowing his brows. 

“I am sorry,” she said, looking into his eyes. “I didn’t mean to worry or upset you today, it really wasn’t my intention.”

Levi tightened his jaw slightly, nodding his head. He leaned forward, gently kissing her lips. “I know,  Mon trésor.”

“W-what does that mean?” she asked softly. 

A smirk played across Levi’s lips and he shook his head a little. “Another time,” he said, hinting that he didn’t plan on telling her. “Let’s get you cleaned up, alright?” 

Leena nodded as Levi collected bath towels, and she brought her hair back in a braid. The two had made their way to the bathroom, Levi entering first to ensure no one else was using the large bath, and pulled Leena in. She took a moment to clean her mouth out before she quickly undressed, for some reason, being bashful despite him having quite the view of her naked body the night before. Levi brought her over to the water, helping her step in, engulfing her flesh in the heat. He carefully pulled her hair from its braid and blocked her face with a hand while pouring warm water over her hair. He sat outside the tub, behind her while he cleaned her hair and she scrubbed her skin. After about 10 minutes of scrubbing, she finally felt clean, and now she was relaxing into the water. 

Levi leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on top of her head as he stood up. “Come back to the room once you’re done,” he instructed, moving out from behind her but her fingers snagged him right before he got out of reach. He raised a brow as he looked over his shoulder at her, “What?” 

“Stay with me,” she said quietly, peering up at him with doe eyes. 

“But the water’s dirty,” he complained, turning towards her as she pulled on him again. “Leena,” he said in a warning tone. 

“Please?” she asked, smiling as he released a sigh. 

“Move forward,” he said, lazily beginning to pull off his clothing. 

Leena scooted forward in the water, waiting for him as he finished undressing. Levi carefully stepped over the side of the tub into the warm water, sitting behind her and stretching his legs out with her between them. He grabbed her waist, pulling her back towards him and as her back met his chest, he leaned back. Leena’s head rested against his shoulder, closing her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her. 

A smile spread across her face as his lips met the side of her head. Levi couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his lips, feeling her hands gently rest on his thighs. Lazily, Leena opened her eyes, looking down and seeing his legs. Her hands gently moved down them but she felt him flinch as her fingertips grazed his ankle. She took that moment to actually look at it, her eyes widened. “Jeeze, Levi,” she said, moving from his grip and facing him as she looked down at it. 

The black and blue, swollen ankle forced her to keep her eyes locked on it. “It’s fine,” he released, rolling his eyes. “Come back.” His hands gripped her elbows as he tried to pull her in again. 

“No, have you had Hange look at this?” she asked, looking into his eyes. 

“Yes, I’m going to wrap it before we go to sleep, relax,” he said, his annoyance portrayed clearly in his voice. “You were the one that wanted me in here, so get over here.” He gave her a pull and she fell onto him, her hands catching herself on the back of the tub. “That was honestly an accident,” he said, loosening his grip on her. 

Leena hovered over him, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, sure,” she said sarcastically. She looked to his face, seeing him stare up at her, his eyes traveling over her features. “What?” she asked, trying to pull back but he grabbed her thighs. 

“You are truly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he said quietly, lifting his hand from the water to her face. 

As his hand cupped her cheek, Leena huffed slightly. “Don’t be all sweet,” she muttered. He smirked slightly, carefully pulling her closer to meet his lips. She pulled away slightly, “Look, I may be drunk but dont think this is going to distra-” She was cut off as he pulled her in for another kiss. This one wasn’t as soft as the first, his hand that was still on her thigh pulled her leg closer as he licked her bottom lip. When she didn’t open her mouth, he brought his hand to rest on her inner thigh. She gasped slightly at his grip and he took his chance, sliding his tongue into her mouth. 

His hand left her face, moving to her waist and he pulled her in to straddle him. As her fingers moved to his hair, he grabbed her ass, pulling her closer. Her chest met his and a hand moved up her back, gripping her shoulder. Their lips moved effortlessly, and Levi pulled back slightly, beginning to kiss down her neck, her hips involuntarily grinding against him. She could feel his hard member as it rubbed against her thigh and she brought a hand down, gently taking it and moving to align it at her entrance. 

Levi pulled back, hissing slightly. “Leena, no,” he forced out. “You’re drunk, we can’t go that far.” 

Leena pulled back, looking down at him. “Levi… please,” she moaned out, ducking her head down and kissing his neck, giving his flesh a light nip and he clenched his teeth. “I’ve sobered up, please…”

“Leena,” Levi warned, stiffening as she met a sweet spot right under his ear and he moaned. Leena smirked at that response, attacking that spot. “Leena, we can’t do this here.”

“I want you to fuck me,” she whispered in his ear. “I belong to you, remember?” as the words left her mouth, she began softly stroking his member. 

“Fucking hell,” he groaned out, tightening his grip on her. “Get up,” he said, pushing her from his neck. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, furrowing her brows. 

“We aren’t doing this here,” he said, gritting his teeth. “So get a towel on, we’re going back to my quarters.”

He stood up, climbing out, and instantly wrapped a towel around his waist. “Oh shit,” Leena released, hopping out of the water and quickly moving to the remaining towel as he grabbed their clothes. Once she had it wrapped around herself, Levi opened the door, popping his head out to see if anyone was in the corridor. 

“Hurry up,” he ordered, holding their clothes in front of his crotch to hide his erection. Leena quickly scurried around him, giggling as she made her way down the corridor, her feet silently connecting with the wood floor. 

As she rounded a corner, she collided with a body. She looked up, meeting a pair of blue eyes. “Fucking hell,” she muttered. 

“Why are you not moving,” Levi’s voice rang, and from around the corner, his hand appeared, slapping her ass. She jolted forward, her toweled body colliding with Armin again. 

“Oh my god,” Armin released, his arms rising above his head to show he wasn’t touching her, holding a piece of bread. 

Levi came into view and realized what he had just done. His face morphed to an emotionless expression, holding his gaze on the traumatized boy. “Why are you not in the barracks?” he interrogated the boy, stepping closer as Leena backed away from the blonde. She stiffened as her back collided with Levi’s chest, clutching the towel around her body.

Armin was in full panic, bringing his hands down and looking between the two in front of him and the small roll in his hands. “B-bread,” he stuttered out. 

“I assume you know what I’m going to say,” Levi said, bringing an arm around Leena, crossing over her shoulders and taking hold of her.

“I was never in this hallway, and neither were you, I was in bed, definitely not stealing a loaf of bread,” Armin exclaimed. 

Levi nodded his head. “Flee,” he instructed and Armin quickly passed them before booking it down the hall. “Damn brat keeps showing up,” he groaned, pushing Leena forward. “Keep moving,” he commanded. “You’ve got me riled up, we aren’t stopping because some kid wanted bread.” 

Leena’s face was bright red as she hurried back to Levi’s quarters, stepping inside before him and he shut the door. As she turned around he was right in front of her, grabbing her thighs and lifting her from the ground. Her legs moved around his waist and he carried her to the bed, fighting to ignore the shooting pain in his ankle. She gripped his shoulders as he tossed her on the bed, pulling him with her to land between her legs. His lips immediately connected with hers, shoving his tongue into her mouth to dance with her own. His hands gripped the towel and pulled it free, exposing her body to him. 

Leena moaned as he pulled away from her lips, his mouth connecting with one of her breasts and a hand gripping the other. As he sucked at the bud, her hands moved to his hair, tugging at it needily and her hips rolled against him. He covered her chest with small bruises, slowly moving down her stomach and she knitted her brows together. “Wha-What are you doing?” she asked as he raised her legs over his shoulders. 

“I didn’t get the chance to do this last time,” he said between kisses, giving a light bite on her hip. She looked down at him as his eyes lifted to look at her face, a smirk on his lips. “What, don’t you trust me?” he asked. 

Before she could answer, he brought his face down between her thighs, his tongue connecting with her clit. She instantly gasped, feeling him give the bud a quick flick, one hand gripping her thigh and the other moving down towards her entrance, sliding two digits inside of her. She gasped as she felt his breath hit her sensitive spot. He released a chuckle and gave her clit a gentle flick of the tongue, her face reddening as heat began to form in her chest and lower stomach. “How are you still so tight?” he breathed out before reconnecting his tongue. Her hands shot to his head as his fingers thrust themselves into her, curling to hit a second sweet spot she only knew existed because of their last encounter. 

“F-fuck, Levi,” she moaned out, feeling a tightness begin to form as he gave her another lick, forcing her back to arch and her hips to buck against him. He moaned slightly as her hold on his hair tightened, hearing a louder moan escape her mouth. Leena began tightening around his fingers and he pushed a third into her, making her gasp more. “I-- I think I’m going to-”

“Cum for me,” he said, his tone demanding as he plunged back between her folds, his tongue moving rapidly and she began to tighten around him even more, her heart rate thumping in her chest and she could feel her blood rushing to her head and stomach. The knot that had formed snapped, and she released a loud, involuntary moan as her hips moved on their own, her torso moving as she rode out her high. As she finally began to relax, Levi used his tongue to lick her clean, slowly pulling his fingers from her and sucking them clean, savouring every last drop of her fluids. He brought the hand under her thigh up to grip her hip, attaching his lips to her right thigh, biting it gently before he began sucking on the flesh, not stopping until she bore a deep bruise. 

Leena’s head had finally cleared, breathing heavily, she looked down at him. Her heart raced as he pulled his head up, resting the side of his face against her thigh. His lidded eyes met hers as he smirked at her. “Good girl.” Leena watched him give a single kiss to her thigh before he began pulling his face up to meet hers. 

Leena pulled him in as he placed his lips against hers, forcing her to taste herself. It was something she instantly felt insecure about but as he dipped his head into the crook of her neck whispering into her ear. “You taste better every time.” Her face reddened as his lips connected with her neck, biting her but remaining careful to not mark her anywhere visible. A hand went down to his cock, grabbing it as he moved back to her lips, kissing her as he wet the tip. The kiss deepened as he entered her in a single thrust, silencing her moan of pleasure and pain. 

“Fuck,” he drew out quietly, slowly beginning to thrust into her. Her arms moved around to his back, her nails sinking into his skin and this egged him on to thrust harder, her jaw clenching as he shifted his legs slightly. “A-ah,’ he grunted, his eyes closing tightly and Leena took that moment to look up at his face. She furrowed her brows and brought her hands down to his abs, putting pressure against him to get him to stop. “W-what?” he asked, opening his eyes and trying to conceal the pain on his face. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, the worry apparent in her voice. He shook his head defiantly, trying to start his motions again. “Levi, no talk to me, I can tell when things aren’t right.”

He groaned slightly, his hips meeting hers but he held still, buried inside of her. “My… fucking ankle.”

“Do you need to stop?” she asked, bringing her hands up, caressing his face. 

He opened his eyes and shook his head slightly. “No, I’m fine.”

Leena brought her hand back to his lower abs, forcing him to remain still as she thought for a moment. “What… What if I handle it?” she asked, looking up at his face and he gave her a confused look. A smirk spread across her face as she looked at him. “What, don’t you trust me?” he rolled his eyes and she pushed him out of her, moving up and connecting their lips while pushing on his shoulder, forcing him onto his back and she climbed onto him. She reached her hand down to take hold of his member, lining it up with her entrance as his hands moved to her hips. 

Leena lowered herself onto him, sitting up straighter as he quickly filled her, a moan sounding in the back of her throat. Levi’s nails sunk into her and she began rolling her hips. “Oh fuck,” he breathed out, his eyes glued to her as she leaned back, resting her hands on his thighs. She moaned out as his cock hit a spot inside of her, and he forced himself to bring a hand to her clit, his middle finger beginning to rub it. 

“A-ah!” she cried out, picking up her pace. 

Levi threw his head back as she tightened around him, letting out a loud noise. “Fuck! Mon trésor,” he said slowly.

To Leena’s surprise, hearing him speak that forgein language forced her into an orgasm. Her head flew back and Levi felt her tighten around him. She released a loud moan, shaking slightly on top of him and he involuntarily bucked his hips, shooting his seed into her as her movements began to slow. Her nails sunk into the skin of his thighs and she rode him leisurely, coming down from her waves of pleasure. As the rolling of her hips halted, the door flew open. 

“Dammit,” a voice exclaimed, making the two freeze. “What did I say about barring the door?”

“Get the fuck out!” Levi shouted, reaching up and pulling Leena down to hide her body. “It's not like we were being quiet!” 

“Erwin, I swear to fuck!” Leena exclaimed, burying her face into the crook of Levi’s neck. 

“We need to have a meeting, hurry up and finish so we can get started,” he ordered. 

“It’s like one in the morning!” Leena exclaimed. 

“You were the one shouting about how we didn’t have a plan,” Erwin retorted, looking at the pair, completely unfazed. 

“Please leave,” Leena said, embarrassment consuming her. 


	13. Stealth mode

Leena walked ahead of Levi, her pants back on and she wore a white blouse, as she usually did, her exposed shoulders back with her head high. She rounded a corner and pushed the door open, seeing Hange sitting at a table as Erwin stood in front of them, explaining to them what he believed the best course of action was. Hange sighed and leaned back slightly, shaking their head as they crossed their arms. 

“Whatever happens, we need to do it and quick,” Leena said, walking into the room further, finally announcing her presence. 

“Where’s Levi?” Erwin asked, standing up straighter. 

“I’m here,” the man released in annoyance, walking in and instantly taking a seat. 

Hange raised a brow at him and leaned closer to him. “Leena where you out or is your ankle just bothering you.”

“Not the time,” Leena warned, moving closer to the table and putting her hands on its wood, looking at Erwin. “What are we doing?” she asked. 

Erwin nodded and pointed to a large bookshelf. “Go grab that map for me and we’ll get started.” He nodded his head to her and she pushed herself up, heading over to the bookshelf. “First things first, we need to narrow down the identity of the traitor,” he explained, his back to Leena as she looked up at the bookshelf, her hand coming up and realizing quickly she could not reach it. She glared at it as Erwin continued to speak, laying out a plan for the two in front of him, assuming the woman at the shelf was paying attention. She began climbing up the shelves but the structure began to creak, forcing her to drop back down and put her hands on her hips in annoyance. 

Hange leaned to the side a bit, looking around Erwin and Levi did the same, seeing the girl grabbing a cane and trying to knock the rolled map from the top of the shelf, not succeeding, in fact, she pushed it further onto it so no edge was hanging off. Leena grumbled a little as she tossed the cane to the side, the two forced to look away to show they were still paying attention to Erwin. 

A loud crash filled the air, making the three jump and look at Leena, seeing her pluck the parchment off the ground from in front of the now tipped over bookshelf. She strutted over to them and sat it on the table. “Got it,” she said with a small smile of pride.

Erwin looked back again, looking at the bookshelf that way now clearly broken and looked down at her. “Did you just break the book shelf?”

“It was up too high for me to reach,” she defended. 

“So ask for help,” Erwin released in disbelief. 

Leena brought her head back, furrowing her brows. “You told me to get the map, I got the map.”

“You destroyed a bookshelf!”

“And I’m about to throw the fucking map out the window if you don’t get over it and appreciate that I got it in the first place,” she pushed, tilting her head as she pulled the string that held the map closed. “So commander, what is our next move?”

  
  
  
  


Leena stayed by Levi’s side those next coming days, their company coming under fire over Eren, those in the council calling for his execution. As Armin, Mikasa and Eren walked through the city, following the lead of Annie, Leena silently moved across rooftops, shrouded in black so that people couldn’t see her. Jean stood in Eren’s place, but Leena stayed far from that affair, instead, she led a collection of Scouts, keeping her eyes locked on the blonde girl who stood at the top of the tunnel. She clutched her sword hit in hand, knuckles turning white as she stared at the traitor below, knowing it would only be moments before the three hidden in the darkness would set off the girl. 

The sound of Annie’s laugh made Leena grab the scout closest to her, her eyes locked on the girl, waiting for the moment to take cover. As men sprung on the girl, Leena turned back. “Take cover!” Her scream cause the Scouts to spring into action, lighting flashing as an explosion erupted and sent debris flying. “Containment protocol!”

Before anyone else could even think to react, Leena sprang up, her hand grabbing the peak of a roof as she vaulted over. It was in moments like this that made the Scouts recognized her as her unofficial title; Humanities fastest. As they were rising above the rooftops, she was already circling the female Titan, cutting at her flesh at such a speed that they could barely see her, in fact they wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for her blades catching the sunlight, creating a blinding glare. 

She led the unrelenting attacks on the creature, and even as people were being picked off, she was unstoppable, every second fighting her, Leena was becoming more and more enraged. A bellowing war cry came from the back of her throat as a figure appeared at her side, Mikasa pulling her swords back behind her, copying her movements as she two sliced up the arms of the female titan, moving insync. 

“No holding back!” Leena screamed out, another wave of Scouts coming in. Together they lured her back to a certain street, Leena cutting at the titan’s face over and over, making her walk backwards as she screamed and attacked. Finally, she flew at her, swinging her legs out in front and slamming her foot into Annie’s eye, making a scream bellow around them before loud explosions filled the air. Harpoons began sinking into her limbs, locking her in place and as Leena did a layout, she began to swing back at her, once again slamming her foot into the titan’s eye, causing her to fall back. From above, two Scouts dropped a large metal net down on top of her, further securing her to the ground and the sound of Hange laughing filled the air. 

ODM gear sunk into the building the section commander was on, and Leena’s feet connected without a sound, standing next to them with a bored expression. “And here I was thinking I was paranoid for having a Plan C!” Hange exclaimed, swinging around a wire in their hand. “Nice job Captain,” they said, nodding at her with a smile. 

“Erwin and Levi aren’t here,” Leena breathed, looking around the street. “I’m going after them.”

Hange nodded and clapped their hands together. “Stay hidden, I’ll handle this situation.”

Without a word, the Captain was torn from the roof, heading towards her commander’s location at top speed, flipping past military police in nothing but a blur of black and wind. As lightning filled the air again, Erwin and Levi came into view, surrounded by armed men and Leena did a flip before dropping down on the commander of the Military police. Feet connected and before Nile had time to react, her hand gripped the barrel of his gun, thrusting it into the air before she slammed her elbow into his side. 

Nile grunted as she tore the gun from him completely and broke it over her knee, sending the pieces flying out to the side. “Eren is on the field,” she said, not looking back to Erwin as she stared into the eyes of Nile. 

“T-this is treason!” Nile stuttered out at the short woman before him.

Leena smirked and slitted her eyes as she turned her head slightly. “Wouldn’t be my first time,” she breathed out. “Stand down.”

“We have titans fighting in our streets!” he shouted, glaring at her as she stood in front of Erwin like a shield, the guns that were once on him now locked on her as she stood emotionless. “You’re arrogance has brought hell right to our door!” he shouted, looking over her head to stare at Erwin. 

“I know,” The commander said, placing a hand on Leena’s shoulder and moving her behind him. Levi had a hand on her hip in a second as he brought his other to the side of her face, looking down at her as if examining the damage. “I acted entirely on my own accord- and I offer no excuses.” Leena went to turn and speak but Levi grabbed her chin, making her stare into his dark eyes, giving her a single head shake. 

Her jaw clenched as Niles moved closer to Erwin, grabbing him by the shirt in his fists and nearly growling as he spoke. “You knew what this would do to us, you son of a bitch! You knew and our lives be damned! Why, damn you! Why?”

Erwin stood still, no fear on his face and Levi finally allowed her to look to them. “For humanity- for victory.”

“Don’t give me that!” Niles bellowed, grabbing another gun and pointing it directly at Erwin’s chest. “You’re nothing but a traitor! I ought to kill you right here and now. None of the higher ups would fault me.”

Leena tried to pull away but the hand on her hip clawed into her, holding her still as she grew angier. “Do as your conscious dictates, my post is yours.” At these words, Nile gasped, disbelief covering his face as Levi pulled Leena flush against him, turning his head slightly to peer at Erwin. “The female titan must not escape. Deployment is through Pierre and Griever is incharge of provisions. Work with them closely, do whatever-” as Erwin continued to speak, Niles tried to get him to stop, reaching a hand out to him. 

“D-do you- really believe this is for the good of us all?” he asked, Erwin’s sanity now in question.

Erwin looked at him with an emotionless expression. “I have faith this is a step forward.”

Niles grunted but slowly lowered the gun, ordering for his men to do the same. “Place this man under arrest. Deploy all troops immediately. As of now, focus on evacuation! Leena Novikoff, you are hereby under arrest- I now wash my hands of the both of you- your fates will be in the hands of the high council.” 

Leena swung her hand, breaking the grip Levi had on her and moved towards Niles, and as two men went to restrain her, she delivered a knee to one of the men’s rips, making him drop before grabbing one of her handles and slamming it into the head of the other, knocking him out. She stepped over them as she moved closer to Niles, putting away her bladeless weapon and stopping in front of him. “He who casts the sentence must swing the sword,” she said, staring into his fear filled eyes. She reached her hands out in front of him, tilting her head. “I’m waiting.” 

Niles gritted his teeth at her taunt, pulling cuffs from his waistband and reaching for her. There was no fight as the cuffs locked and she didn’t look back to Levi as she was escorted from him and Erwin. Leena held a dead expression as she was handed off to another man. She had six armed men escorting her through the streets now, guns ready and as she moved further and further from the fray. She sighed a bit, bringing her hands up to scratch at her braid, snickering as all the men tensed. “Relax,” she said, bringing her hands down again, looking ahead of her with a smirk. Long fingers worked carefully, and she released a sigh. “It will go by quickly,” she released, tilting her head, her neck emitting a loud crack. 

“Wh-” a guard was cut off as his face connected with a metal cuff, shattering his nose. He let out a scream of pain as his eyes watered, Leena throwing her back into one of the guards, his gun getting stuck under her arm as she slammed her head back into his own. 

An elbow landed in his ribs as Leena turned quickly using him as a shield while tearing his gun from him, hurling it across the street. One thing went through her mind as she began her work, no casualties. She grabbed the man’s nap and flipped him in front of her before quickly spinning, her foot colliding with the barrel of one of their guns. “One chance,” she warned, getting into position to fight hand to hand, the men staring at her in fear. “I don’t want to hurt you.” 

One of them grunted, lifting his gun and she lurched forwards, gripping it in two hands and tearing it from him, spinning quickly and thrusting it up, connecting the butt of the rifle with his chin, making him fall back, smacking his head on the concrete. The sun was beginning to set on the city and as darkness was falling, she lurched again, this time landing her thighs on a man’s shoulders, leaning back and tearing him to the ground before punching him square in the face. “Two down,” she breathed, looking up again before swinging her leg out and taking out a pair of legs, rolling forward and straddling his hips, smacking her elbow into his face. 

A gasp escaped her lips as a gun went in front of her neck, choking her as she was ripped off the man. She was held against a chest as an attacker came at her from the front. A dagger was pulled from her back and she slammed it into the man’s side, making him shout out and loosen his grip enough for her to slide out from under it, jumping up and planting both feet into his chest, sending him flying into a wall and her back hit the ground. The butt of a barrel neared her face now and she dodge it in the last possible second, raising her legs and slamming her feet into the man’s shoulder, breaking his grip and allowing her to disarm him. 

Spinning up onto one knee, Leena shot four times, each shot landing in a man’s thigh, making two more drop before she got up, looking down at them. She curb stomped one before spinning and slamming the top of her foot into the others face. She turned slowly, looking at the last one, who just so happened to be the one that she hit in the nose with her hand cuffs. She walked at him slowly and he tightened his jaw, bringing up his fists. 

She nodded slightly, bringing her own up and he moved at her, throwing punches and with every one, she simply moved her arms to push his fists off track, she ducked under his arm, pulling a blade as she crouched and threw it, landing it in his thigh before running at him and doing an aerial kick, slamming him face first into the ground. 

Leena looked up at the sky, no longer having ODM gear as it had been confiscated, her mind began running a mile a minute. She needed a plan. 

  
  
  
  


1 hour later.

Levi stood at the scene of Eren and Annie’s battle, listening to Hange rifle off orders to contain the girl and the military police stood guard, ready to take in all parties for debriefing. Erwin stood in cuffs as well, watching intently while Niles stood at his side. 

Running feet filled the air with noise as Niles turned his head, seeing a frantic soldier running towards him. “Sir!” he exclaimed as he met his side. “Captain Novikoff! She escaped!”

“What?” Niles boomed, earning the attention of the Scouts regiment members, everyone looking at the Military Police Commander. 

“The escorts were late in her delivery,” the soldier explained. “A party went out to ensure they were still on track and the soldiers were found beaten and bloodied in the street, no sight of Novikoff anywhere.”

“She can’t have gotten far,” Niles shouted, looking around at his soldiers. “I want a squad-”

“Sir-” the soldier shouted, cutting him off. “The barracks were raided-”

Niles looked at him with wide eyes as Hange looked to Levi, the pair sharing the same look of knowing. “What!”

“A set of ODM gear is unaccounted for,” the soldier explained. “As well as 12 canisters of gas.”

Armin looked to Mikasa with large eyes as Niles looked to Erwin. “Where is she?” 

Erwin didn’t even flinch at the anger in his voice, instead he released a sigh. “I have no idea.”

“Bullshit!” the commander shouted. “Where is she?”

“There’s no telling,” Levi called, crossing his arms as he looked at the pair who stared at him. “She’s humanities fastest- and if no one has seen her in over an hour- you’re shit out of luck because she’s long gone by now.”

“For all we know,” Hange explained, nodding their head and looking to them as well. “She’s probably halfway to Wall Rose by now.”

“Someone must have seen her, at some point- there’s no way she cou-”

“Leena specializes in stealth missions,” Erwin explained next, cutting the man off. “She goes beyond the wall by herself and can sneak up on a titan until she’s already slicing its nape- Niles, there’s no way your men could have seen her.”

“She’s broken into my home many times,” Hange added softly, nodding their head. “Only trace left usually being small notes or baked goods.”

“What- are you saying she’s a ghost now?” Niles asked, furrowing his brows. “No- she couldn’t have gotten away already.”

“She’s gone, Niles,” Erwin said, nodding his head but had a solemn expression on his face as he looked at the ground. Levi gritted his teeth slightly and grunted, shaking his head. “Was anyone else harmed?” he asked, lifted his head again. 

“Besides those escorting her, no,” the soldier said, shaking his head. 

Hange nodded. “Then trust me, no one saw her.” 

  
  
  
  
  


Darkness had fallen on the city, Levi having retired for the night, pacing around his room on the hunt for any sign she could have left. He released an angry noise before slamming his foot into the bookshelf, instantly releasing a pained noise and clutching his ankle as he bent forwards. “You should be more careful,” a quiet voice said, making him jump and stand fully. He turned and there on his bed, sitting with crossed legs, was Leena. She wore a black turtleneck and black pants, but she wore the stolen ODM gear. “You do have an injured leg, you know.”

Levi clenched his jaw and he walked to her, his hands instantly gripping her face when she was in reach and slammed his lips on hers, a rough kiss taking place before he tore himself away. “Are you crazy?” he asked quietly, staring down at her with angry eyes. 

“Maybe I am,” she said, shrugging slightly as she forced herself to stand. “I can’t stay long.”

“You shouldn’t have come at all,” he said, watching her as she moved to the table, picking up a pen and sheet of paper. “You need to get as far from here as you can.”

“What and leave without a goodbye?” she asked, smirking as she looked over her shoulder at him. “I need a favor.”

“I don’t have leverage to get you out of this, Leena,” he said, his voice broken as she was writing something down in code. 

“I’m not asking you to,” she released, capping the pen and standing up straight. She folded the paper quickly and brought it to him, holding it between them as she looked up at him. “I’m asking you to be a messenger.”

Levi furrowed his brows as he looked at the paper. “To who? Erwin is under surveillance.”

With a head shake, Leena pushed it to his chest. “Hange.”

Levi furrowed his brows and brought his hand up, wrapping his fingers around her hand. “Why didn’t you just go to them?” he questioned, looking into her eyes. 

“I wanted to see you,” she said quietly. “I don’t know how long it will be before I can again.” she looked down at his chest and smiled a little. “You do look really nice in a suit, don’t you?” she asked softly. 

Levi looked down at her as she slowly looked up at his face, a sadness in her eyes and he clenched his jaw. “I can’t convince you to stay?” he asked, removing the paper from her hands and she gently took the front of his suit jacket in hand, looking down at it and shaking her head. “We can figure out a way to fix this.”

“No we can’t,” she said softly. “I don’t have much time, Levi, so I’m asking you, as a friend… please take care of them.” that whisper of a request made slight tears come to Levi’s eyes as she looked up at him, almost crying as well. “At least until I figure out a way to fix this.”

“Leena-”

“I don’t have much time, the next guard is coming in about thirty seconds,” she said quickly, looking to the door. “I have to go Levi- I’m sorry.”

“Wait- please don’t-”

“I have to,” she said, looking at him and cupping his cheek. “I love you, okay? Don’t forget that.” Levi went wide eyed and she quickly kissed his lips before making for the window, pushing it open. “I’ll be around- you just won’t see me,” she said, not looking back at him as she pulled the neck of her shirt up as a mask and made her jump. 

Levi moved to the window as fast as his leg would allow, looking out and she was already gone. He clenched his jaw and slammed his fist on the window frame, pulling back and making for the door. He walked out and sure enough, a guard walked past him just as Leena said. He made his way down the hall, not bothering to knock as he reached the section commander’s chambers and let himself in. 

Hange jumped slightly as they turned, seeing the man looking disheveled as he slammed the door closed behind him. “Levi?”

He walked to them without a word, holding up the slip of paper which they eagerly snatched, opening the folds to read it. Their eyes went wide and they quickly moved to the fire place, tossing it in. “What did it say?” he asked. 

“She’s going to be in the city and around the south west base on this side of Wall Rose,” they whispered, nodding. “I have the coordinates.”

Levi nodded as he slowly moved to the table, plopping down onto the chair and put his face in his hands. “This is a mess.”

“Of course it is,” Hange breathed out. “It’s always a mess. But we take the blows and move forward.” 

“How do I explain this to Eren? And the blonde kid?”

“You don’t, just- you let them cope how they would and when she makes her heroic entrance- as she always does- you let them be happy,” Hange said, nodding. Levi clenched his jaw as he slightly bit his knuckle. Their brows furrowed as they looked at him, seeing his confliction and they tilted their head. “What’s wrong? She’s safe, it's going to be fine.”

Levi gulped and shook his head. “S-she told me she loved me…”

“Well you’re acting like she dove out the window afterward, it's a good thing Levi!” they exclaimed quietly, a smile coming on as they sat down across from him. Levi looked up at Hange with an annoyed expression and she got confused. “She dove out of the window, didn’t she?”

“Yup.”


	14. The Return

Weeks had passed, and Erwin rode as fast as he could on his horse, using all the speed he could to clash with the armored titan. He let out a bellowing scream as he lead the charge and as an Array of Titans now stood in their path, he prepared himself to leave his horse for a moment. He released an enraged scream, hoping up slightly so his feet were on the saddle, taking off at full speed. 

“Commander!” a scout screamed from right behind him. “Look!” 

Erwin looked more closely, the blinding glare of metal making him flinch as in a row, the Titans collapsed like dominos. His large brows furrowed together as they drew closer he grew more confused. “Did we have eyes on the soldier that did that?” he shouted over his shoulder, looking back ahead as another Titan popped up in front of them. As no one could give confirmation, Erwin watched as a figure flew into the air, shrouded in air and as it passed that titan, they flew higher into the air. Erwin’s heart began to race as the figure of a woman became clearer. As she started to fall, she began maneuvering through the trees at an astonishing speed, disappearing for a moment and as Erwin led his horde, she bursted through the trees. As she did a layout, Erwin went wide eyed seeing her twirl through the air. 

“Leena!” he bellowed out, seeing her attach to a tree on the opposite side of the clearing and tearing herself towards it. 

The scouts to his left went wide eyed. “W-was that Captain Novikoff?” he practically screamed. 

As if to respond, Leena rounded the tree quickly, tearing through the air with her slingshot maneuver to land on the back of his horse. “Miss me?” she asked as the man jumped out of his skin. 

“Leena!” Erwin repeated, looking back to her. 

Leena smirked from her crouching position, standing fully and hopping onto the back of his horse, bending over his shoulder and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Aw come on, Erwin! It's only been, what, six weeks!” she rested her hands on his shoulders, her stolen ODM crossing over her tattered tank top and black cargo pants. “I am running low on gas though, don’t suppose you have a cargo carriage around right?”

“No! Where have you been?” he asked loudly. 

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore,” she retorted, standing fully and looking over her shoulder at the group, those who recognized her cheering as she gave a brief salute. “Damn ya’ll actually missed me?” 

“Are you here to help or be a pain?’ Erwin called, making her snicker. 

“Help, I suppose,” she retorted. “You know you got a horde at your back right?”

Erwin huffed and she nodded. Her head looked straight ahead, seeing they were in direct line of the armored titan and she huffed. “Hold on to me!” Erwin shouted before calling for the soldiers to break off. Leena landed on her butt and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist as he harshly jerked them to the right. “Do you want the long story or short?” he asked loudly. 

“Make it brief!” she shouted as Erwin led the squad out of harm's way, the collection of Titans attacking the Armored Titan. 

“Reiner and Berthold are Titans- like Eren, we’re trying to take them down now!”

“Shit, alright, let’s go,” Leena said, nodding her head. 

Erwin called for a charge, Leena sitting down correctly on his horse now and they took off. Her eyes were locked on the Titan pile, breathing heavily as she metally prepared herself. Erwin let out a war cry, lifting his sword into the air but in a split second, he slapped his elbow into Leena, sending her flying off the back of the horse. As she fell, she looked to her side, seeing Erwin being ripped off the horse by a titan, his arms clenched in his jaws. Her eyes went wide and she desperately used her gear, sending herself back to the horse. 

Her hands connected with it’s butt and she grasped the reins as she hit the saddle. “Do not fall back!” she screamed, tearing at the straps and making the horse go onto its hind legs. She turned in a 180, scouts flying past her as she bolted after her commander. “Keep charging!” she bellowed, standing slightly as she hit top speed, flying after her friend. As she closed in, she hopped up so she was standing on the horse’s back. “Erwin!” she cried out, releasing the reigns as she was about to go under them, launching herself into the air and twisting through the air as she went over them, slicing the creatures neck. She locked her gear into it as it began to fall, quickly speeding under it as it bit through Erwin’s arm, letting him plummet towards the ground. 

She caught him immediately, flinging them towards the pair and Erwin clutched to her side with his arm. She landed them on the horse, desperately trying to hold onto him as she landed behind him, the horse coming to a stop. “We have to retreat!” she screamed, now covered in his blood and as more kept pouring out, his rage took over. “Erwin!” she shouted as he took hold of the reigns, turning them and taking off. 

“Tie it off!” he shouted.

“Erwi-”

Her screaming was cut short by probably the only thing that would have changed her mind. “They have Eren!” he screamed and her eyes went wide. “Do it!”

Leena’s jaw clenched as she was frozen, Erwin tearing towards the pile of titans. In an instant, she released him, quickly removing the belt on her pants and brought it to his arm. In a swift movement, she tore the bottom half of her shirt as well placing it over the wound and securing it with the belt, tightening it as much as she could before pulling a dagger and creating a hole in the leather to secure it. She shortened the flap and grabbed onto his shoulders. “Faster,” she growled out. “Faster, Erwin!” she screamed. “I’m going to tear them to shreds!”

As the armored titan ahead broke free, he left himself wide open, Erwin closing in evenmore, weaving between titans, and as they emerged on the other side, both launched into the air, Leena moving for the armored Titan, Erwin for Berthold. 

“Armin! Down!” she screamed, making him turn his head as Erwin sliced through Berthold's chest, freeing Eren. Armin dropped down and she began slicing through the exposed muscle on the underside of his neck.

  
  


“All soldiers retreat!” Erwin’s voice screamed as she continued to slice. 

Leena began screaming as she tore him apart, Reiner releasing bellowing screams. “Leena!” A long voice screamed, a voice that seemed to calm her rage. She looked down with a crazed expression, her eyes dark, body covered in the blood of her commander. “I’ve got you!” Armin screamed out to her. “Jump!” With a final slice, Leena launched herself from Reiner, slipping past the snapping jaws of a titan and she used her gear to move closer, planting herself in front of Armin on her horses, her thighs landing on his as she peered over his shoulder, pulling a pistol from it’s spot on her hip. 

Eyes locked on Berthold as he dangled from the Armored Titan’s jaw, bringing the pistol up overArmin’s shoulder. She pressed her face up against his and covered the opposite ear with her dainty hand. “Hold it steady!” she said loudly. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, speeding up but doing everything to make whatever she’s doing easier. 

“Taking out Berthold,” she growled, firing a shot. Berthold released a scream as it sunk into his shoulder. “Fuck! I missed his head!”

“Leena, no!” he exclaimed, tearing his head back and looking down at her face. “We need them alive so we can question them later!”

“We only need one,” she said darkly, moving to aim again, but armin jutted his shoulder forwards, hitting her in the neck before releasing one of his hands. 

“Armin!” she exclaimed but he grabbed the hand holding the pistol and broke her grip on it, making her drop her weapon hand forced her back, her hand above her head as her back laid across the neck of the sprinting horse. “Wha-”

“I just got you back!” he screamed down at her, his blue eyes tearing into her own with rage. “If you hurt him, Berthold can transform! He’s the colossal from those years ago! You will die! We all will!” Leena’s eyes widened as he stared down at her. He released her now, thinking she now understood what was happening and he forced her up against him, riding at full speed to catch up to the rest. He neared Jean now, making the male look over to see the captain pressed up against the blonde. 

Jean looked back before doing a double take. “L-Leena?” he called loudly and she looked at him, making his eyes go wide at her current state. “W-wher-” he was cut off as the earth shook under them, dirt flying and a titan’s body flew over their heads. “He’s throwing Titan’s now!” he practically screamed. 

“Keep moving!” Leena screamed, moving under Armin’s arm and standing up on the back of his horse. “Do not stop!” she bellowed to those running. “Armin, turn around,” she said into his ear. “Eren was hit.” Armin immediately pulled back on the reigns and without being told, Jean did the same. “Go!” she shouted and the pair of horses bolted forwards. As titans were thrown in front of them, Jean shouted words of annoyance, and Leena immediately launched herself. “Don’t stop!” she ordered as she flew around to the backs of the titans, one by one slicing them down. 

She flung through the air, hot wind coming from the wounds of the dying titans, her screams of rage filling the air as she slaughtered the monsters she was with. She began her descent as the last one fell, Armin and Jean getting past them and when she hit the ground, she did a forward roll, moving to her feet and began sprinting across the field. In this moment, her rage took over as she sprinted forwards, doing everything she could to catch up and she watched as Jean was knocked from her horse, Armin flying off of his own to reach him. As more and more began coming at them, Armin held the boy, trying to fend off a Titan. 

Leena began to slow her run, looking around the battlefield, hearing the screaming of soldiers. Her heart slowed as she looked around, dropping into her stomach as tears came to her eyes. Titans began closing in around her, making her drop her head slightly as the tears began to fall. “I’m sorry Levi,” she whispered, looking to the sky with a small smile on her face as she saw his face in the sunset. A hand slipped around her waist, lifting her off the ground but her eyes remained on the sky, not bothering to look at the titan that held her in its grasps. A scream filled the air, one she recognized and she was dropped. 

Eyes wide, Leena frantically grabbed at her handles as Titan’s sprinted past her. She frantically pressed the button but that's when she understood- she was out of gas.

She looked to the sky again, plummeting down and she released a breath, the butterflies in her stomach making her clench her jaw. She knew in that moment that she was reaching her end. One by one, in the slowing of time, the faces of her comrades flashed through her mind, tears falling from her eyes as Levi’s appeared and stayed. Her heart skipped a beat in that moment, and a smile came to her, and as she opened her eyes, she saw those blue skies, and her vision began to tunnel. From the stress, lack of nutrients and water, and that fall, Captain Leena Novikoff fell into a blissful unconsciousness. 

  
  
  
  


The days had passed and when Erwin awoke from his wounds, he learned that Leena still hadn’t. He had caught her before she made contact with the ground, saving her life but her weakened state only harmed her in a long sense. She was moved to his room, his bed even, at night, holding her, unable to sleep out of the fear that she wouldn’t awake, and as Hange crawled into that bed with them, and Levi sat at the bedside, holding her seemingly lifeless hand, the three could only muster two words- ‘Stay alive’. 

Erwin had been brought away to use that bathroom, leaving Leena’s body and Levi alone, the man sitting with a clenched jaw as he stared at her face. He slowly reached out, taking her hand in his own and brought it to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss. He released a breath but sucked it back in as he felt her fingers tighten around his own. A small noise came from her throat, and he flew to the bed, hovering over her body as she began to stir. “L-Leena?” he breathed out, his eyes wide as he watched hers slowly flutter open.

She was dazed in that moment,and as the blurry surrounding began to clear, Levi’s voice became clearer as well. She was able to focus on his face, her lips parting and a small moan came from her. “L-Levi? Where am I?” she asked, her head turning into the pillow a little. “I-is this heaven?”

“Far from it,” Levi whispered, a smile coming to him as he looked down at her face, tears coming to his eyes. “You’re alive.”

“Doesn’t feel like it,” she murmured. 

“You haven’t eaten,” he said softly, bringing his hand up to turn her face to him. “You need to.”

“Is that the feeling in my stomach?” she asked, a hint of sarcasm making him smile as tears dropped from his eyes, landing on her cheek. “Le-” Leena was cut off as Levi’s lips connected with hers, clenching his eyes closed as he cried against her. He pulled back but kept his eyes closed, pressing his forehead against hers. “Don’t cry for me,” she whispered, bringing a shaky hand to his wrist, holding it loosely as she held the side of her neck. “History has it eyes on us now,” she whispered. “There’s no time for tears.” 

Levi flopped down beside her, sliding his arms around her and pulling her into him, crying a bit harder as he held her. “L-Levi… will you tell me something?” she asked softly. “Anything? Just… I want to hear your voice.”

Levi clenched his jaw and pressed his lips to her temple. Levi slowly moved his hand to hers, feeling the warmth he had been longing for since their last meeting. Finger tips grazed her palm as he gently kissed her cheek. “Anything?” he whispered, his face buried in her hair. 

From outside of the door, Erwin could hear their voices, and he stood still, his hand flying to Pyxis’s chest, stopping him as he reached for the door. “Let’s go for a walk,” he whispered, looking to his fellow commander and nodding. “And let’s grab a meal for the captain? Probably hungry.”

Levi held her in that time, telling her stories from his time in the under ground, and when he first met Erwin. Leena curled into him slightly, her heart aching as he told her more and more. Once and awhile, Levi would bring her hand to his lips, placing sweet kisses onto her knuckles. He looked down at her face, seeing her small smile and one came to him as well. “Leena?” he whispered. She released a ‘Hm?’ and he tightened his grip on her hand. “ Je t'aime aussi,” he whispered. 

“I don’t know what that means,” she said in a tired voice. 

“I love you too.” 

Pyxis pushed the door open, holding a tray of food and as his eyes locked on the pair, they went wide. “Leena?” he asked in amazement. 

“Told you the captain would be hungry,” Erwin said, looking at them as Levi didn’t even try and conceal their position. He walked into the room more, moving to the side of bed Leena was on and bent down, kissing her forehead. “Brace yourself, Hange is going to be here any moment.”

Levi groaned a bit and Leena weakly chuckled. “I can’t seem to die anyway,” she whispered, moving to sit up but Levi held her in place. 

“She needs to eat,” Pyxis said, quickly shutting the door and moving further into the room, holding a plate in hand and offering it to the girl. Levi groaned a little but sat up, moving Leena between his legs and propped her up against his chest as she immediately began eating.”How are you feeling, dear?” he asked, he and Erwin sitting in the chairs around the bed. 

“Like shit,” she said, nodding her head. “So- who's filling me in and how are we going about hiding me from the military?” She asked before taking a bite of poultry. 

“Well, firstly you were cleared,” Erwin said, looking at her. She furrowed her brows as she continued to chew and he nodded. “We had majority Military police in our company, all that survived spoke on your behalf.”

The explanation of the past weeks events was provided to Leena and she took it all in, nodding her head in understanding. They had found the traitors at least, and with her cleared, she wouldn’t have to worry about hiding her presence, however, one thing still burned her at the heart. “May I speak with the doctor?” she asked, looking around. “Alone?”

Erwin sighed and nodded his head towards Pyxis, telling him to go retrieve the man. Erwin stared at her as she leaned against Levi, her head down a little as she fiddled with her frail hands. “Leena,” he whispered, hoping to get her to lift her gaze but she didn’t. “What happened out there?”

“It’s not what happened out there,” she whispered, shaking her head. Her jaw clenched slightly and shook her head. “We have to get ready.”

“For what?” the commander asked, looking at her intently and she shook her head. 

“They’re coming for the 104th,” she said, looking at him. “I broke into the capitol building, Erwin the MPs are coming for us, and now that I’m back… it's even more leverage. They’re going to be watching Eren and I like a hawk at this point and one slip up is going to put us on our asses.”

Erwin tightened his jaw and nodded. “I’ll make arrangements with Hange, you and Levi need to prepare your troops.” Leena nodded in agreement as Erwin stared at her with sad eyes. “Welcome back.”

Leena nodded as she watched him stand, the door opening with the doctor that had been caring for the woman standing with Pyxis waiting to enter. “Come Levi,” Erwin said, nodding his head and moving for the door. 

Levi placed a kiss on Leena’s temple, slowly maneuvering out from behind her and carefully climbing off the bed. Leena watched him go, her heart breaking slightly. She looked down as the doctor stepped into the room, walking further into the room after shutting the door. “Captain,” he said, moving to her bed side and sitting down. “You’re playing a dangerous game, you know?”

Leena nodded, clenching her jaw. “So you already know my concerns, then?” 

The doctor sighed and crossed his arms, sitting back into the chair. “When did it happen last?” 

“Eight weeks,” Leena muttered, bringing her hands to her face, tears coming to her eyes. “Do they know?” she asked, pulling her head up and looking at him. 

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I wanted to speak with you first.”

Leena nodded, looking towards the window. She saw the sun light, feeling that warmth on her exposed skin and she sighed, shaking her head, a single tear dripping down. “How bad?” she asked, not looking at him.

“From what I can tell, not at all,” the doctor confirmed, trying to offer her comfort.

Leena sniffled, bringing a hand up and wiping a tear from her cheek. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” she said with a huff of a laugh. 

The doctor leaned forwards and took her hand, making her look at him. “It’s a very good thing,” he whispered, nodding his head with a smile. 

“I’m gonna be a liability,” she whispered, staring into his eyes. 

“For a little, yes,” the doctor said honestly, but gripped her hand tighter. “But it will be okay, you aren’t alone in this.” Leena clenched her jaw and inhaled deeply, huffing it out as she looked to the ceiling in desperation. “I’m going to tell you this, even though I know you won’t. You just need to slow down a bit as it progresses.”

“Now of all times?” she asked, looking back to him in disbelief. “I have a duty-”

“They will understand-”

“I can’t tell them,” she released, clenching her jaw and crying harder. 

“You need to,” the doctor said softly. “For your sake and theirs.” Leena went silent as her eyes closed her eyes, gulping at the lump in her throat. The doctor sighed slightly. “I had half the mind to tell Erwin,” he admitted, nodding his head.. “But now- I understand… The captain is the father, isn’t he?” 


End file.
